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Europe pressures Kiev to stem departure of youth to other countries — newspaper

El Pais also characterizes Ukraine’s demographic situation as catastrophic

MADRID, December 22. /TASS/. Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic have called on Ukraine to limit the flow of refugees crossing its borders into Europe, the Spanish El Pais newspaper reports.

The publication states that these three European countries have accepted the largest number of Ukrainians since the beginning of the conflict. While each country presented its own rationale, all warned Kiev that the situation is approaching the limits of their capacity to host refugees from Ukraine. The European Commission confirmed in December that applications from Ukrainian refugees rose significantly this autumn, the newspaper added. Brussels linked this surge to an August decree that simplified border crossings for Ukrainian men aged 18 to 22.

The publication also characterizes Ukraine’s demographic situation as catastrophic. The problem, in part, is that the majority of those departing are women with children and young people, individuals well-positioned to establish new lives. Furthermore, once martial law is revoked, hundreds of thousands of men may attempt to leave Ukraine to reunite with their families overseas.

According to data from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, a total of 4.3 million Ukrainians are currently under temporary protection in EU countries. This figure includes 1.23 million (28.6%) in Germany, 965,000 (22.5%) in Poland, and 393,000 (9.1%) in the Czech Republic.

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