This weekend, SVT reported that there is a “shortage of soldiers” and that “fewer and fewer want to fight” in Ukraine. At the same time, EU countries are discussing solutions to send home Ukrainian men staying within the union. The Swedish government is pushing the issue, stating that Ukraine’s men should remain to win the war against Russia.
It was on Sunday that Swedish Television (SVT) suddenly began reporting that “there is a shortage of soldiers” in Ukraine and that “fewer and fewer want to fight.”
SVT also highlights the many striking video clips that have been shared on social media in recent years. The clips show Ukrainian men being forcibly taken by recruitment staff in public places to be mobilized, while the men themselves and their families often put up strong resistance.
“On social media, images are circulating of men being seized on open streets and taken away. They are forcibly mobilized to defend Ukraine against the Russian invasion,” SVT writes in the article, adding that they have met a Ukrainian man who wants to flee.
In January, Samnytt reported that Ukraine’s new defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, announced that around two million Ukrainians are avoiding military service in the war against Russia, and as many as 200,000 of the country’s soldiers are on unauthorized absence—meaning they have left their positions without permission.
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SVT has now met a Ukrainian soldier who says that several of his friends return from the front as “disabled.”
– I made the decision because the war is now in its fifth year. I don’t know how long I’ll be forced to serve, and I have friends coming back as disabled, he told SVT.
Ukraine’s martial law has, for most of the war, prohibited most men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country. However, since a regulatory change in 2025, pushed through by President Volodymyr Zelensky, men between 18 and 22 are again allowed to travel abroad.
For men aged 23 to 60, the travel ban still largely applies. Despite this, many have fled illegally by crossing the border through forested areas towards the EU. Others have remained abroad since the war began in spring 2022 or are hiding within the country’s borders.
EU Countries to Send Them Back
The reported shortage of Ukrainian soldiers at the front, according to SVT, appears to have contributed to several EU countries now taking steps to facilitate the return of Ukrainian men from the Union to their homeland.
After Russia’s invasion in 2022, the EU activated the so-called Temporary Protection Directive. The regulation grants millions of Ukrainians the right to live, work, and receive social benefits in EU member states.
Over 4.3 million people are covered by the temporary protection, according to Eurostat. Most are in Germany, followed by Poland and the Czech Republic.
An overwhelming majority are women and children, but there are also men of conscription age—not least because many who fled as minors have since become adults after the war began.
Sweden Wants to See the Men Sent Home
Once again, Sweden has taken the lead on the issue. Migration Minister Johan Forssell (M) emphasizes that temporary protection remains important but believes the regulations need to be adapted to the way the war has developed.
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– It is essential for us to give Ukrainians protection, but at the same time, the war must be fought and won, he says according to the British The Guardian, and continues:
– For this to be possible, it is necessary that more men stay in Ukraine and fight.
The proposals from the Swedish government were presented during a meeting between the EU’s migration ministers in Luxembourg. According to Forssell and the Swedish government, any changes should only apply to people who apply for protection in the future, not those already covered by the current rules.
The EU Commission is responsible for proposing any extensions or adjustments to the directive, which must then be approved by member states.
According to The Guardian, it was also discussed that the EU should be more restrictive with visas for Russian citizens traveling for short tourist visits.
Germany Has Started the Process
Germany is one of the countries that has received the most Ukrainian refugees. Over one million Ukrainian citizens live in the country, including many men of conscription age. Their return to Ukraine has become a matter at the highest political level between the two countries.
Germany and Ukraine are already in talks about how Ukrainian men of conscription age will be sent to their homeland. This was stated by Ukraine’s ambassador in Berlin, Oleksii Makeiev, in an interview with Ukrinform on July 3.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has, in talks with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, stressed that he does not want to see young Ukrainian men traveling to Germany. This was highlighted by the news agency Reuters.
– They are needed there, was Merz’s message in a telephone call with Zelensky.
Earlier this spring, at a press conference with Zelensky on April 14, Merz said that Germany wants to limit the influx of Ukrainian men and increasingly see to their return to help their homeland during the war.
– We will work closely together on issues regarding Ukrainian citizens who have sought asylum in our country and will facilitate their return home, Merz said in Deutsche Welle’s broadcast, which can be seen below, and continued:
– It is very important that these men remain in the country and help their homeland.