Slovak Minister of Interior Matej Sutaj Estok claimed the country was 'on the edge of a civil war' following the shooting of Prime Minister Robert Fico, during a briefing in Bratislava on Wednesday.

We are standing slowly on the edge of a civil war here," he said. "Because such hateful comments are being made on social networks today, so please, let's stop this immediately. This culmination and this assassination of the Prime Minister is an explicit confirmation of that."

"The initial information that we have suggests that there was a clear political motivation and that the decision was made shortly after the presidential elections," he continued.

Meanwhile, Slovak Defence Minister Robert Kalinak said the PM's condition was 'extremely serious'.

"According to the information that we have, he suffered serious polytrauma after suffering several gunshot wounds. And his health condition is extremely serious. We are all praying," he stated.

Fico was airlifted to hospital in Banska Bystrica after being shot multiple times following a government meeting in Handlova. Following the attack, a post on Fico's official social media stated that he 'has been shot multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition', while the 'next few hours will decide'.

The alleged assailant, named in local media as 71-year-old Slovakian Juraj Cintula, was detained at the scene, while no details have been released by police about a possible motive at time of publication.

Handlova lies 150km northeast of the capital Bratislava.

59-year-old Fico was elected in September 2023, marking his fourth period as PM and ran on a campaign to end military support to Ukraine. He has opposed EU sanctions on Russia and the sending of arms to Kiev, saying the US and others should use their influence to bring about a peace deal.