Hungarian Journalist: Man Shooting Fico Linked To Pro-Russian Paramilitary Group

• 16.05.2024, 7:43

It supports the separatists of "DPR" and "LPR" and co-operates with Putin's "Night Wolves".

Slovenskí Branci, a pro-Russian paramilitary group, has popped up in the story of the assassination attempt on Slovakia's head of government Robert Fico.

Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Pányi discovered that the writer Juraj Cintula, who shot Fico, was linked to the pro-Russian paramilitary group of Slovenskí Branci ("Slovak New Recruits"), which supported separatists in the self-proclaimed "DPR" and "LPR".

In January 2016, a post with a picture of Cintula appeared on its Facebook page. The writer said he was attracted by the organisation's ability to "act without orders from the state", a "selfless enthusiasm" that manifests itself in that "they buy their own weapons and hardware with their own money". "They are patriots," Cintula wrote. In the same post, he said it was necessary to fight migrants, who he believes are threatening Europe, and added that Slovenskí Branci's main task is to "protect the inhabitants, the country, traditions and culture."

According to VSquare, the organisation collaborated with the pro-Kremlin Night Wolves biker movement and its leader Peter Švrček was trained by former Russian special forces. In 2022, the group announced that it would cease its activities.