Number of adult men among Ukraine refugees is increasing

Since the beginning of the war, the number of male refugees from Ukraine admitted to Germany has also increased. Nothing has changed in the gender ratio. According to figures from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, 468,652 of the adult war refugees stored in the Central Register of Foreigners are currently women. This corresponds to a share of around 72 percent.

The AfD parliamentary group wanted to find out via a parliamentary inquiry how many Ukrainians of military age – according to the laws of their home country, this applies to men between the ages of 18 and 60 – are currently living in Germany. The answer from the federal government states that at the end of August the data of around 162,000 Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 were stored in the Central Register of Foreigners (AZR). The AZR data should be treated with a certain degree of caution, because it is possible that some of those registered there have left Germany again in the meantime.

Before the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine on February 24, data on around 39,000 men in this age group was reported there. At the end of April, the number had risen to around 94,000 men between the ages of 18 and 60.

According to Ukrainian martial law, men between the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country. However, there are exceptions for fathers who have three or more minor children to look after. Single fathers of underage or disabled children are also allowed to leave Ukraine, as are men who can prove medical reasons. On May 20, the cabinet in Kyiv also decided on further exceptions – including for non-conscript athletes and drivers who transport humanitarian goods. The men of draft age recorded in the German Central Register of Foreigners also include adolescents who only reached the age of 18 after fleeing.

Especially in the first months of the war, there were reports of Ukrainians who had left the country through bribery or by leaving the country unnoticed across the green border. Around a third of Ukraine refugees are children and young people. The federal government does not collect statistics on how many of the men stored in the AZR are unfit for military service.

According to Ukrainian sources, Russia is attacking the city of Mykolaiv in the night with heavy rocket fire. "A five-storey apartment building was hit, the top two floors were completely destroyed, the rest is in ruins. Rescuers are working on site," Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said on social media. The city in the south of the country near the Black Sea is being "massively shelled".

The new Ukrainian ambassador Oleksiy Makejev is expected in Berlin early next week. As the German Press Agency learned from Ukrainian government circles, the previous special representative for the sanctions against Russia should arrive at his new place of work from Kyiv on Monday. Two days earlier - on Saturday - the current ambassador Andriy Melnyk will leave Germany. He is to take up a new post in the Foreign Ministry in Kyiv.

Born in 1975, Makejev, who, like Melnyk, speaks German very well, previously worked at the embassy in Berlin. In 2014, then Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin made him his political director, and in 2020 he became sanctions officer.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recalled current ambassador Melnyk from his post in mid-July. Melnyk had not only made a name for himself with often harsh criticism of the federal government since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

Britain wants to supply Ukraine with anti-aircraft missiles to defend against Russia. "The AMRAAM missiles (...) will be made available in the coming weeks for use with the NASAMS air defense systems promised by the USA," said the British Ministry of Defense on Thursday night. The missiles would help protect critical infrastructure in Ukraine, it said.

Britain also announced that it would deliver drones to support Ukrainian intelligence services, as well as 18 howitzers, in addition to the 64 guns already delivered.

"These weapons will help Ukraine defend its airspace against attacks and (...) strengthen its missile defenses," said British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saw the UN resolution against Russia's annexations in Ukraine, passed with a historic majority, as a strong sign of international unity. "Today's impressive vote in the UN General Assembly is a powerful reminder that the overwhelming majority of nations stand with Ukraine - in defending the UN Charter and firmly opposing Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine and its people "Blinken said on Wednesday (local time).

Territorial integrity is a central pillar of the United Nations, Blinken said. Russia's "violent disregard for national borders and the sovereignty of Ukraine" cannot and will not be accepted. The fact that very few countries voted with Russia shows that international unity on the issue is clear and support for Ukraine is unwavering.