The pro-Putin prime minister of Slovakia is recovering in hospital after being shot in an assassination bid that triggered alarm bells across Europe.

Robert Fico was beckoned over to meet a crowd of supporters before a gunman leaned across and fired five times at point-blank range, sending the divisive politician sprawling to the ground.

Bodyguards pounced on the would-be assassin as Mr Fico was carried into a government limousine which sped away before he was airlifted to hospital.

Overnight there was confusion over the premier’s condition, with deputy prime minister Tomas Taraba telling the BBC on Wednesday evening he was confident Mr Fico ‘will survive’, with local news outlets reporting that he was out of surgery and stable.

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