In the Reuters podcast, Christian Lowe describes a night of Russian drone attacks on Kyiv, listening to the whine and waiting for it to fade. \u201cIf it doesn\u2019t, then you need to be worried.\u201d In a WWII air-raid bunker in Berlin, visitors to the new Ukraine Museum get a few seconds of that feeling, \u201ctargeted\u201d by a Russian drone camera as they enter. \u00a0This contrast made me consider who stays in Ukraine and experiences the real-life version.<\/p>\n
The Ukrainians who stay in these readings are largely men. Deb\u2019s article profiles civilian volunteers, \u201cjudges by day and drone killers by night,\u201d manning antiquated machine guns. One of them, Andrian, explains why he\u2019s there: \u201cWe have children. We have a family.\u201d The refugees in the Berlin readings appear mostly as statistics, and according to the UN, most people who fled Ukraine were women and children \u2013 as high as 90% in the first months of the war.<\/p>\n
This could be read as courage versus flight, but it seems that the main sorting factor is the law. Under martial law, until August of last year, most Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 were barred from leaving the country. This gave me a new perspective on Deb\u2019s piece. The volunteers she profiles are brave, but most couldn\u2019t leave even if they wanted to. The law decided that they must stay, and they chose what to do about it.<\/p>\n
The law changed in August 2025, when Kyiv raised the lower end of the age bracket to 23. In Germany, weekly registrations of male Ukrainian refugees aged 18-22 skyrocketed. In response, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz asked Ukrainian President Zelensky to \u201censure that young men\u2026 do not come to Germany in ever-increasing numbers, but rather serve in their own country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Merz\u2019s quote sent me back to the Kyiv Independent piece from earlier that year, when Ukraine and Germany agreed to open a \u201cUnity Hub\u201d in Berlin. It promised Ukrainians education and career opportunities and help for \u201cthose who want to return.\u201d By then, Germany had spent more than 20 billion euros on Ukrainian refugees. This support was built around the people that Ukraine\u2019s exit ban had let out, mostly women and children. But when young men started arriving, the chancellor asked Ukraine to keep them. I\u2019m left wondering who exactly Germany\u2019s welcome was for.<\/p>\n
External sources:<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/ukraine-russia-war-germany-refugees-young-men-protection\/a-74562374<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/europe\/20251113-merz-asks-zelensky-to-ensure-fewer-young-ukrainian-men-come-to-germany<\/a><\/p>\n