In Slovakia, thousands of people took to the streets to protest against Prime Minister Robert Fico and his pro-Russian policies.
This is reported by the Associated Press and the Slovak media Aktuality.sk.
The rallies began after the cancellation of a holiday in honor of November 17, the day on which the Czech Republic and Slovakia celebrate the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. The Cabinet explained its decision by “economic reasons”, but the leader of the opposition “Progressive Slovakia” Michal Šimečka called it an attempt to devalue freedom.
Fico also recently angered Slovaks by telling students in the city of Poprad that they should go fight for Ukraine if they disagreed with his pro-Russian views.
The protests took place in dozens of cities. In particular, in Bratislava, from 45 to 50 000 people came to Svoboda Square, in Košice — 20 000. In Trnava, from 2 to 3 thousand protesters gathered, writes Aktuality.sk.
People chanted, "We have enough of Fico! We want a change!" and called on the prime minister to resign.
Whatʼs wrong with Ficoʼs policies?
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico met with Russian dictator Putin three times after Russiaʼs full-scale invasion in 2022. He opposes Ukraineʼs accession to the EU and refuses to provide military assistance to Kyiv.
Amid disagreement with Ficoʼs policies and his alleged support for Ukraine, an assassination attempt was made on him on May 15, 2024. The prime minister was shot several times at close range by 71-year-old Juraj Cintula. The man was arrested on the spot, and Fico was urgently taken to the hospital by helicopter.
On the evening of January 10, 2025, another round of protests against the pro-Russian policies of Prime Minister Robert Fico began. People protested in Bratislava, Prešov, Žilina, Poprad, Banská Bystrica, and Košice, where about four thousand people rallied.
On January 14, all Slovak opposition parties united and said they would try to force the resignation of Prime Minister Robert Fico. They claimed that Fico had given up running the country and was instead bowing to dictators.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.