Germany could help Kyiv bring military-age men back to Ukraine, says official

The German government could help Kyiv with bringing men of military age who reside in the country back to Ukraine, said Foreign Affairs Minister Johann Wadephul.

In an interview with Paul Ronzheimer of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network released Wednesday, Wadephul said Berlin could share its data on Ukrainian men with German residency permits.

“We know who lives here. For example, who receives social benefits or who is registered here,” said Wadephul. On the basis of this data, these men could “be contacted by the Ukrainian government and called upon.” The whole process, however, should run “without coercion,” added the minister.

Approximately 1 million Ukrainian refugees obtained a temporary residence permit in Germany following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including around 450,000 men, according to official 2025 data.

Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022, prohibiting men aged 25 to 60 who are eligible for military service from leaving the country. Approximately 1.17 million adult Ukrainian men are currently benefiting from temporary protection across the EU, and their presence abroad has been a matter of discussion between Kyiv, Brussels and EU capitals.

German Chancellor Freidrich Merz urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in November 2025 to curb the flow of young men leaving Ukraine. And in April this year, Zelenskyy said in a press conference alongside Merz that the return of men of fighting age was “a matter of fairness.”

In July, the EU banned men of fighting age from its refugee scheme in response to “the evolving military needs of Ukraine.” The ban only covers new applicants, and not men already residing in the EU.