DW: Why is the number of young Ukrainians coming to Germany increasing?

Nearly 1.3 million Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Germany during the war in Ukraine.

As of the beginning of October, a total of 1,293,672 people was registered in the Central Register of Foreigners and granted temporary protection since February 2022.

Until now, the majority have been Ukrainian women with their children or pensioners. Now, a new wave of refugees, primarily men under the age of 22, is on the horizon.

The reason for this is a change in border crossing rules by the Ukrainian government.

Since August 28, men aged 18 to 22 have been allowed to travel without hindrance.

This has led to a tenfold increase in the number of Ukrainian men in this age group registering in Germany, according to the German Interior Ministry, from about 100 to nearly 1,000 per week.

The new wave of refugees is also confirmed by a refugee counseling center in Berlin, which has been visited by many young people from Ukraine since September.

“Until now, men in this age group have not been significantly represented among the people we advise,” says Elena Weiner, coordinator of the Berlin counseling center, where more than 440 conversations took place in September, 13% of them with young men.

According to the counseling center, this represents a significant increase compared to 0.1% in the summer.

Some young people go directly to initial refugee reception centers, while others initially stay with friends or relatives in Germany.

According to the counseling center, a distinguishing characteristic of these young people is their relatively high level of education.

Most initially want to secure temporary protection status in Germany and then look for a place to study or work.

Twenty-year-old Maxim from Kyiv is one of those who seized the opportunity to leave Ukraine.

He recently arrived in Berlin for his first stay abroad. As he strolls through Alexanderplatz, he can hardly express his feelings: “I am so happy! My joy is boundless because I realize this is my ticket to the future”.

Maxim has already applied for temporary protection and is currently living in a camp. Now he wants to learn German and then study or work.

He says, “I came here to get an education, if not as an electrical engineer, then in a profession that will improve people’s quality of life and make this country a better place”.

For the past two years, Maxim has worked in Kyiv as a messenger… His father died seven years ago, so he lived alone with his mother, who works as a cleaner.

“I also came to Germany to help my mother,” Maxim explains.

Twenty-two-year-old Serhiy, who also recently arrived in Germany, is originally from Donbas and is a refugee from the Russian-led war.

He lived in Donetsk, just two kilometers from the airport, and witnessed the beginning of the war firsthand as a child.

He later moved to Shakhtarsky in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and during his studies, he regularly attended services at an evangelical church and simultaneously discovered his passion for video production and directing, and today, he works as a freelance motion designer.

Serhiy says the decision to leave Ukraine was difficult… Legal travel opportunities for men are limited and become more complicated after the age of 22.

He realized this was his last chance to leave legally… “At 23 or 24, you find yourself in a kind of buffer zone,” he says.

“You can’t simply leave, but you can’t hide either, and at the same time, your conscription date is approaching,” In Ukraine, military service can begin at age 25.

Serhiy has friends in Germany who left Ukraine earlier, so he decided to go to Germany too, where he is now settling.

He is filling out applications and looking for a job so he can rent an apartment.

Later, he hopes to bring his family—his mother, brother, and sister—over.

He doesn’t want to return to Ukraine for the next ten years.

He doesn’t feel homesick; “I moved around so much, and unfortunately, I never had what I could call a real home,” says Serhiy, who has moved six times since the war began in 2014.

Viktor, 18, from the village of Hryhorivka in the Kyiv region, came to Berlin with his girlfriend at the end of August, where they applied for temporary protection.

From Berlin, Viktor continues his studies online at the Kyiv State University of Culture and dreams of becoming an actor.

He actually wanted to leave the country before turning 18, but he hesitated.

He eventually left Ukraine because of his fear of war and fear of conscription.

It’s true that men under 25 aren’t conscripted, but that could change at any time, he says.

“I’ve read reports that the conscription age might be lowered. In our country, any law can be passed, including conscription at 18,” Viktor says.

His parents still live in Ukraine; his mother works as a nurse, while his father has been unemployed for years due to health reasons.

Viktor finds adapting to life in Germany more difficult than he expected.

He wants to learn German first, then secure a place at university or find a job.

Currently, he is still facing difficulties: “Everything here is extremely bureaucratic, and the language barrier is a major obstacle”.

Allowing men under 22 to leave Ukraine has sparked mixed reactions.

Critics argue that Ukraine cannot afford to lose its young generation, especially during times of mobilization.

On social media, young men leaving the country are often labeled deserters or traitors, even though they are leaving legally.

“All my friends in Ukraine are happy for me… Even those serving in the Ukrainian army didn’t tell me I was abandoning the country and that I should fight,” Maxim says.

According to Maxim, there were only a few men his age on the bus he left Ukraine on, and he believes that those who take this step see it as an opportunity, but are fully prepared to return if integration abroad proves too difficult.

He believes the knowledge gained in Germany can be applied in Ukraine upon his return.

Serhi says eight other young men were sitting on his bus.

After passport control, everyone was overjoyed… When we finished, everyone shouted: Hurrah, we did it!” Serhi says.

Despite their different living conditions, the three young men, Maxim, Serhiy, and Viktor, now want to build a new life in Germany.

According to current polls, more than one in five Ukrainian teenagers want to move abroad, while 52% want to stay in Ukraine.