Attempt on Fico: Russian propaganda desperately trying to put blame on Ukraine

The key threat to Ukraine at the moment in the context of the recent attempt on Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is Russian propaganda trying to find a Ukrainian trace in the tragedy.

That’s according to Dmytro Tuzhanskyi, chief of the Institute of Central European Strategy, who spoke in a comment to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The key threat to Ukraine now in the context of the attempt on Fico is Russian propaganda and disinformation. The Russians are trying to tie Ukraine and pro-Ukrainian forces to the tragedy in the media space as much as possible. That is, it is no longer a ‘head-on’ tactic (…). But the Russians are methodically working to tie Ukraine thematically to the tragedy, which caused shock and a negative reaction around the world.

At the same time, Tuzhanskyi noted that a very important element of political culture expressed by the Ukrainian side was the fact that the Ukrainian authorities, in sync with other world leaders, reacted to the tragedy clearly and unambiguously, condemning the attempt on the Slovak prime minister. This is a correct move, noted Tuzhanskyi.

He also noted that, in fact, Slovakia is a nation that is very vulnerable to Russian propaganda.

"Russians feel very confident in Slovakia, they take advantage of all these Slavophile and pan-Slavic sentiments expressed by almost half of the Slovak society. The Russians also had a very strong influence on all the recent elections in Slovakia. That's why we have to be careful here," Tuzhanskyi emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico was hospitalized on May 15 in serious condition after being shot at after a government meeting in the Slovak city of Handlova.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that the perpetrator fired five shots. Slovak police charged a 71-year-old Slovak man, Juraj K., who had been detained at the scene. The culprit is currently being held in custody in the city of Nitra, in the west of the country. It became known that Juraj K. was a member of an organization that participated in protests against the policies pursued by Fico and his government on April 24.