Total of 650,000 men of conscription age have left Ukraine for Europe since beginning of war

A total of 650,000 men of conscription age have left Ukraine for European countries since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, says the Austrian tabloid Exxpress, citing Eurostat data.

Source: Austrian tabloid Exxpress; BBC Ukraine

Details: Eurostat claims that there are 650,000 male Ukrainian refugees of conscription age in 27 EU member states, as well as in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that about 6.3 million people have left Ukraine since the start of the war, most of them women and children.

A BBC Ukraine analysis of Eurostat data indicates that 4.2 million people currently have official temporary protection status in the EU. 18.3% (768,000) of them are men aged 18 to 64.

At the same time, the Exxpress obtained data specifically for the age group of 18–60-year-olds.

Only those who left Ukraine by 24 February 2022 can obtain this status.

"However, the tabloid and statistics do not specify the number of men who left legally as fathers of three children, group II persons with disabilities or other categories of individuals eligible to do so. In addition, they don't separately mention men who could have travelled to the EU from the territories occupied by Russia," the journalists noted.

The German Interior Ministry has reported that exactly 221,571 Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 have arrived in Germany since 24 February 2022. A total of 189,484 of them are still there today, the tabloid noted.

These figures only cover those who are officially registered. The German Interior Ministry believes that another 100,000 are not registered and stay in the country illegally.

The situation is similar in Austria, where at least 14,000 Ukrainian men have reportedly travelled there with forged documents or using the "services" of smugglers.

Background: 

• In August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that thousands of people had travelled abroad with the help of bribes and dubious military medical board decisions and that bribe-takers would be brought to justice.
• The BBC, citing data from the border services of countries bordering Ukraine, reported that about 20,000 men of conscription age have illegally left Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion to avoid being drafted into the army. These figures were provided by the border services of the countries bordering Ukraine. Another 21,000 men were reportedly detained while trying to flee abroad.

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