BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to curb the flow of young Ukrainian men to Germany and ensure they stay to defend their country.

“In a lengthy telephone conversation today, I asked the Ukrainian president to ensure that young men in particular from Ukraine do not come to Germany in large numbers — in increasing numbers — but that they serve their country,” Merz said Thursday. “They are needed there.”

His comments come amid growing concerns in Germany — particularly within Merz’s conservative ranks — that public support for the Ukrainian cause could wane if young male Ukrainians are seen to be avoiding military service by coming to Germany.

Following the relaxation of Ukrainian exit rules over the summer, the number of young Ukrainian men aged 18 to 22 entering Germany rose from 19 per week in mid-August to between 1,400 and 1,800 per week in October, according to German media reports citing the German interior ministry.  

Markus Söder, Bavaria’s conservative premier and an ally of Merz, proposed restrictions on the EU’s so-called Temporary Protection Directive if Kyiv doesn’t voluntarily reduce arrivals. The rules provide Ukrainians with an automatic protected status.      

Germany is one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies within the EU. The country has hosted over 1.2 million Ukrainian refugees since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and is its biggest donor in military aid after the U.S. in absolute numbers.

Members of Merz’s ruling coalition fear that the growing presence of young Ukrainian men in Germany will be turned into a political flash point by members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, who criticize the government’s ongoing support for Kyiv.

The ascending AfD, now polling first, has long demanded a stop to welfare payments to Ukrainians. Around 490,000 Ukrainian citizens of working age receive long-term unemployment benefits in Germany, according to data from the country’s employment agency.

Merz’s coalition — which is under increasing fiscal pressure and generally wants to reduce welfare spending — is working on a draft law that would cut the right to such benefits for Ukrainians and encourage work.

“In Germany, the transfer payments for these refugees will be such that the incentives to work are greater than the incentives in the transfer system,” Merz said Thursday.

In the same phone conversation, Merz also urged Zelenskyy to sort out the country’s corruption problems as Kyiv faces the fallout of a massive scandal involving kickbacks — another development that German officials fear could undermine public support for the embattled country.