Merz urged Zelensky to take measures to ensure that fewer young Ukrainians go to Germany

German Chancellor Friedrich Merckx has asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to persuade young Ukrainian men to stay in their home country and serve in the army rather than go to Germany. The German chancellor said this while speaking at the German-Ukrainian trade and economic congress in Berlin, Barron's writes.

According to Merks, for its part, Germany plans to cut social payments to Ukrainian refugees in order to motivate them to seek work at home rather than migrate abroad.

They are needed in their own country," the chancellor emphasised.

This statement was made against the background of a record inflow of Ukrainians to the EU: in September, the number of refugees increased by 49%, and Germany received more than a quarter of all arrivals. The migration growth is attributed to Ukraine's decision to allow men under the age of 22 to travel freely abroad.