Germany’s foreign minister said military-age Ukrainian men in Germany should go home but insisted that any such move should be voluntary.
According to government statistics, about 1.3 million Ukrainians were living in Germany at the end of 2025, making up one of the country’s largest refugee communities.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told the German newspaper Bild that Berlin could help officials in Kyiv identify and locate military-age Ukrainian men living in Germany since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
“We know who lives here. Who, for example, receives social benefits, or who is registered here, who has a residence permit,” Mr. Wadephul said.
The 1.3 million Ukrainians make it one of Germany’s largest ethnic groups. Mr. Wadephul said Ukrainian officials could contact the military-age men in Germany to inform them they’re being drafted into their homeland’s army.
“I think this is something that can and must be addressed,” he said, adding that their return home should be done “without coercion.”
Germany has emerged as Ukraine’s largest supplier of military and financial support in its war against Russia. Mr. Wadephul said the German military manufacturing companies should benefit from Berlin’s support of Kyiv.
“I told [President Volodomyr Zelenskyy] this during my last visit: ‘We stand by you, we support you. But I also have to explain this to German taxpayers. The very least you can do is involve the German defense industry in all procurement projects,’” Mr. Wadephul said.
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