Slovakia: a student with Ukrainian symbols refused to shake the president's hand

The student Simon Omanik received an award for a bronze medal at the Central European Mathematical Olympiad from the hands of Education Minister Tomas Drucker.

He received this award at the presidential palace but refused to shake the hand of Slovak President Peter Pellegrini. A video of his act is widely shared on social networks.

When the minister suggested that Omanik shake hands with Peter Pellegrini, who was standing nearby, he refused—although the president had already extended his hand for a handshake. After this awkward moment, Omanik, Drucker, and Pellegrini took a joint photo.

Slovak media outlets are not yet providing details on why Omanik, a high school student in Bratislava, ostentatiously refused to shake hands with Pellegrini. However, the video shows that the student had a large ribbon in the colors of the Ukrainian flag on his jacket.

Last week, Peter Pellegrini said he was refusing to pay an official visit to Kyiv because Ukraine had stopped the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine to Slovakia. A move that was slammed by Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, known for pro-Russian views. Pellegrini's party is Fico's Smer-SD party partner in the government coalition.

Also in December 2024, Pellegrini claimed that Ukraine would need to make territorial concessions to achieve peace in the war with Russia.