Friedrich Merz said he used a “lengthy” phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday to argue that military-age Ukrainians should stay and serve at home.

His intervention follows Kyiv’s August 2025 decision to let men aged 18 to 22 leave the country, a shift that has visibly changed refugee flows into the European Union.

Merz Seeks Fewer Young Male Arrivals

Merz told a Berlin trade congress he had asked Zelensky “to ensure that young men from Ukraine… do not come to Germany in ever-increasing numbers, but rather serve in their own country,” adding, “They are needed there,” casting the issue as wartime manpower and migration.

Germany’s interior ministry said Kyiv’s August 2025 easing of exit rules pushed weekly arrivals of men aged 18–22 from just over 100 to as many as 1,796 in the week starting October 6.

Border Rule Change Drives Influx

EU statistics agency Eurostat recorded 79,205 Ukrainian refugees across the bloc in September, the highest monthly total in over two years.

More than 1.2 million Ukrainians are currently hosted in Germany, accounting for 28.3% of the EU’s Ukrainian refugee population, underlining how heavily Europe’s largest economy is carrying the burden of protection.

Berlin Plans Tighter Refugee Benefits

Merz said Berlin will change welfare rules so “the incentives to work outweigh the incentive to remain in the welfare system.”

A draft bill due for cabinet approval next week would shift Ukrainians arriving after April 1, 2025 to the lower-paying Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act rather than the Citizen’s Allowance.

Immediate labor-market access, counseling, and job-placement services would remain. Merz also raised Ukraine’s energy corruption scandal, linking the refugee debate to governance and public trust.