German Chancellor Merz said that Volodymyr Zelensky should ensure that young Ukrainian men remain in the country and perform military service, explicitly linking this issue to security considerations. He made the remarks on January 6 at a press conference in Paris following a meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing. According to Merz, Ukraine should prevent young men from leaving for Germany, Poland, or France.
The chancellor emphasized that young Ukrainians should serve in their own country. “They are needed there,” Merz said.
He had previously expressed a similar position in a phone call with Zelensky in November, but the statement in Paris marked the first public confirmation of this approach.
In effect, Merz’s remarks amount to a direct call on the Ukrainian authorities to revoke the permission allowing men aged 18 to 22 to leave the country, which was introduced in August last year at Zelensky’s initiative.