photo by Today.ua
According to DW with reference to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in Germany, in March 2026 there were about 1.34 million people who entered due to the war in Ukraine. These included 349,500 men and 500,300 women between the ages of 18 and 63. A year earlier, 297.6 men were registered in this age group – so their number increased by about 52,000 over the year. In comparison, the number of women of the same age increased by less than 24,000 over the same period.
These figures are politically sensitive, given that Ukraine has had restrictions on many citizens leaving the country since the general mobilization was announced. Initially, they applied to men between the ages of 18 and 60. In the summer of 2025, the government partially relaxed these rules, allowing young people up to the age of 22 to leave the country.
Ukrainians in Germany raise questions
Alexander Throm, an expert on domestic policy in the parliamentary faction of the CDU/CSU Christian party bloc, told Welt am Sonntag that “militarily conscripted young men from Ukraine should not be in the German welfare system.” According to him, the German government is holding talks with Kiev on this issue.
Given the level of social benefits paid to Ukrainians in Germany, Trom also called for a “fair distribution of Ukrainian refugees within Europe.” He noted: that other European states, in particular Poland, had long ago adjusted social payments.
The far-right Alternative for Germany party says that the level of German social security for Ukrainians is excessive and demands its revision – this position was expressed by domestic policy expert Gottfried Curio.
For their part, the Greens see the reception of Ukrainian refugees as an investment in the future: “Those who study and work here today will be able to help rebuild Ukraine tomorrow. It is therefore in our common European interest to open opportunities for these people,” said Robin Wagner, the Greens’ expert on Eastern Europe.
