Copenhagen will take in fewer refugees and push more men toward the front lines
The Danish government will stop issuing temporary residence permits to Ukrainians from regions relatively unaffected by the conflict with Russia. At the same time, Denmark will bolster Vladimir Zelensky’s conscript army by denying entry to draft-age men.
Under the new rules, residence permits will be denied to Ukrainian migrants coming from 14 regions in central and western Ukraine, Denmark’s immigration ministry announced on Thursday. According to the ministry, the government will introduce this change in legislation in April.
The 14 regions deemed safe by the ministry include Cherkassy, Chernovitsy, Ivano-Frankovsk, Lviv, Ternopol, Volhynia, and the region surrounding Kiev. Lviv is more than 900km from the front in the Donbass, roughly the same distance between Copenhagen and Russia’s western border.
There are currently around 45,000 Ukrainian refugees living in Denmark. According to UN figures, 42% of working age Ukrainians in Denmark are unemployed. New arrivals skyrocketed last year, when Vladimir Zelensky relaxed exit rules for men under the age of 23.
Under the new legislation, these men will be sent home when they turn 23 to face conscription. Men of draft age (23-60) will be denied entry from the moment the legislation comes into force.
Danish Immigration Minister Rasmus Stoklund said that this rule was made to address a shortage in social housing, and at the request of the Ukrainian government, “which has repeatedly called for Ukrainian men who are called up for the military not to be granted a residence permit in Europe.”
After four years and a million casualties – according to Russian figures – the Ukrainian armed forces now rely heavily on abducting and press-ganging unwilling men into military service.
According to Eurostat, over 4.35 million Ukrainians are registered for temporary protection in EU countries. Some EU countries, including Poland, Germany, and Hungary, have responded to this influx and the resulting pressure on their welfare systems by cutting back on benefits for Ukrainian migrants.
Norway has also adopted Denmark’s approach. On Thursday, the Norwegian government announced that it too would deny residence to draft-age men, and would forbid Ukrainians from safe regions from seeking temporary protection.
