Germany leverages refugee data to help Ukraine contact fighting-age men
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Berlin could share data on Ukrainian refugees with German residency permits to help Kyiv contact and potentially call back fighting-age men, as long as the process is voluntary. Germany hosts about 1 million Ukrainian refugees with temporary permits (roughly 450,000 men); across the EU, around 1.17 million adult Ukrainian men are under temporary protection. Ukraine has been under martial law since 2022, prohibiting men aged 25–60 from leaving, while the EU has banned new applicants of fighting-age from refugee schemes. The idea appears in the context of ongoing debates about returnees and fairness, with coordination among Kyiv, Brussels, and EU capitals.