Merz calls on Zelensky to curb flow of young Ukrainian men out of Ukraine

MOSCOW. Nov 14 (Interfax) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky that fewer Ukrainian young people should arrive in Germany as refugees, Ukrainian media reported, citing the Barron's German media outlet.

The article was published following a Merz-Zelensky phone call on Thursday.

"I asked the Ukrainian president to ensure that young men from Ukraine in particular do not come to Germany in ever-increasing numbers, but rather serve in their own country," Merz said after the conversation with Zelensky.

German social welfare rules will soon be changed in a way that will lower payments to Ukrainian refugees and "thus offer greater incentives to find employment," he said.

"The benefits for these refugees will be structured in such a way that the incentives to work outweigh the incentives to remain in the welfare system," Merz said at a Berlin business congress.

According to the article, Germany has already taken in about a million Ukrainian refugees since 2022, and since August, it has seen an influx on young Ukrainian men after the Ukrainian authorities allowed those aged 18 to 22 to leave Ukraine. The number of men in this age bracket seeking refuge in Germany increased from just over 100 per week to 1,796 in one week at the beginning of October.