Friedrich Merz asks Volodymyr Zelensky to hold back the young men
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he had invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to “to ensure, in particular, that young Ukrainian men do not come (…) in increasing numbers in Germany, but that they fulfill their duty in their country”.
The aid to which Ukrainian refugees were entitled until now in Germany will be reduced “so that the incentives to work are stronger than the temptation to stay in the welfare system”he announced. “Ukrainian refugees will no longer be covered by the (…) citizen income »the country’s main social benefit, but “will fall under the law on asylum benefits”said the chancellor.
This measure will concern Ukrainians – men and women – who arrived after 1is April 2025, according to government sources cited by Agence France-Presse, who confirm information from the newspaper Bild. It should enable savings of 730 million euros in 2026, according to a bill presented in the summer.
More than 5.6 million Ukrainians have found refuge abroad since February 2022, the vast majority of them in Europe, according to UN figures. Germany has welcomed more than a million, mostly women and children, but arrivals of young men have accelerated rapidly since kyiv‘s decision at the end of August to relax its martial law and allow adult males aged 18 to 22 to leave the country.
