"I asked the Ukrainian president for an assurance that young men from Ukraine will not come to Germany in ever-increasing numbers but will instead serve their country. They are needed there," Merz told an audience at a business congress in Berlin on Thursday.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Europe's leading economy has taken in around a million Ukrainian refugees. In the past month or so, the number of young Ukrainian men arriving in Germany has increased significantly in the wake of Kiev's decision to allow men between the ages of 18 and 22 to leave the country.
Previously, it was around 100 people a week for men in the current age group, which can be compared with the 1,796 who sought protection on German soil during the week that began on October 6.
Merz also said that rules for Ukrainians regarding access to welfare systems will change so that refugees from Ukraine receive lower payments.
