BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Thousands gathered at the Slovak capital on Thursday to protest a meeting between populist Prime Minister Robert Fico and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an escalation of previous protests against Fico's pro-Russia stance. The government's planned austerity measures also drew condemnation from protesters.

The latest wave of protests was fueled by a trip by Fico to China where he again met Putin, along with other authoritarian leaders. Fico traveled to Beijing for a military parade hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Fico was the only head of a European Union country to attend the event, where he discussed bilateral relations with Putin in their third meeting since the Russian all-out invasion of Ukrai

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