Kelly Clements, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, has cautioned European Union member states against abrupt changes to the bloc's temporary protection regime for Ukrainians fleeing the war. In an interview with Euronews, Clements stressed that any modifications should be carried out "very gradually," as some EU capitals reportedly consider excluding Ukrainian men of military age from the scheme.
"The war has not abated. It has become more intense, with more civilians caught in the middle," Clements said. "The circumstances that created the conditions for the European Union to issue temporary protection have largely not ended."
Debate Over Military-Age Men
The discussion comes as a handful of EU member states, notably Poland and Germany, push to narrow the scope of the Temporary Protection Directive, which was activated by Brussels in March 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The scheme currently provides refuge to approximately 4.37 million Ukrainians across the EU without requiring them to apply for asylum.
EU home affairs ministers held an initial debate last week on a proposal to exclude Ukrainian men aged 23 to 60 who are eligible for military service. However, most Ukrainian men in that age bracket are already barred from leaving the country under Ukrainian law, with exemptions for individuals with disabilities, those deemed unfit for service, fathers of three or more children under 18, and full-time caregivers for sick relatives. Ukraine's formal conscription age begins at 25.
Adult men account for 26.6% of Ukrainian refugees in Europe, though precise figures on how many are of military age or entered the EU irregularly remain unavailable.
"I realise it's an active debate," Clements acknowledged, "but hopefully, until the war ends, there would be an opportunity to keep those temporary protections in place so that people can support themselves and so that the responsibility doesn't fall unduly on other nations." She added that if the scheme is lifted, it should be done "very gradually with other options for those that need to take care of themselves when it's not possible to go back safely or voluntarily."
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call last November that Kyiv needed to curb the number of young Ukrainian men fleeing to Germany, arguing they were "needed there." German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has since noted an uptick in Ukrainians of "compulsory military age" arriving in Germany in recent months.
The debate over the protection scheme intersects with broader European migration policy challenges. The EU has been grappling with how to manage returns and readmissions, as seen in discussions with the Taliban on migrant returns. Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine continues to shape European security and economic priorities, with climate policy increasingly framed as defence policy.
Clements' remarks underscore the humanitarian stakes: any sudden withdrawal of protections could leave hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians in legal limbo, unable to return safely to a country still under attack. The UNHCR deputy chief's call for gradualism reflects a broader concern among aid agencies that political pressures in EU capitals should not override the realities on the ground in Ukraine.
