The Member States of the European Union have decided to extend temporary protection for people who have fled Ukraine due to the war by a further year, until 4 March 2028. However, this no longer applies automatically to Ukrainian men entering the EU for the first time. Since July 2026, they can only be granted temporary protection if they can prove that they left Ukraine lawfully or are exempt from military service. The Council of the European Union has yet to give its approval, however.
Scheme for women and children extended
The scheme was introduced at Ukraine’s request. Nothing will change for Ukrainians already living in an EU country. Like refugee women and children from Ukraine, they have the right to residence, work, education, medical care and social support in the EU Member States.
Under Ukraine’s current rules, according to the organisation “Der Paritätische”, men of military age between 23 and 60 would be particularly affected. They are not permitted to leave Ukraine. However, only conscripts aged 25 and over are currently being called up for military service. Since the relaxation of Ukraine’s military service laws in August 2025, men aged between 18 and 22 have been permitted to leave the country, unless they have voluntarily enlisted in the military.
More men fleeing
As reported by the newspaper *Die Welt*, citing analyses by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), just under 60 per cent of the nearly 100,000 people from Ukraine who have arrived in the last 16 months were men of military age. This contrasts sharply with the influx at the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, when women with children made up the majority.
Sources:
https://mediendienst-integration.de/
https://www.der-paritaetische.de/alle-meldungen/eu-kommission-und-eu-mitgliedstaaten-einigen-sich-auf-verlaengerung-des-voruebergehenden-schutzes-fuer-gefluechtete-aus-der-ukraine-bis-zum-04-maerz-2028/
https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article6a279ce38d84dbd8a4ed99a5/bamf-60-prozent-neu-ankommender-ukraine-fluechtlinge-sind-maenner-im-wehrfaehigen-alter.html
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