German Members of Parliament have reached an agreement on the issue of continuing to provide "civilian benefits" to Ukrainian refugees, pledging to gradually cancel all benefits provided to Ukrainian refugees. According to the new law, all Ukrainians who arrive in Germany after April 1, 2025, will no longer be considered special refugees but ordinary asylum seekers, and thus will receive significantly reduced economic assistance. Initially, the law was planned to completely cancel all "civilian allowances" for all Ukrainians, but German cities and federal states opposed it, fearing that this would increase the administrative burden on local governments. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Germany does not need Ukrainian men of conscription age at all, and called on Zelenskyy to take measures to bring them back.
At the same time, Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced that he will sign a decree to extend the aid to Ukrainian refugees for the last time. Nawrocki emphasized that he does not want to become "the president of chaos" and believes that Ukrainians should enjoy the same treatment as other minority members.
There are more than 2 million Ukrainian refugees in Germany and Poland, far exceeding the number of Ukrainians in other Western countries. The approaches of Germany and Poland may have the purpose of "killing two birds with one stone," that is, by canceling various benefits for Ukrainian refugees, to reduce their own financial burdens; at the same time, to force Ukrainian refugees to return to Ukraine, providing more manpower for the Ukrainian government, allowing the Ukrainian army to continue fighting on the battlefield.
Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1848946089712780/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.