(MENAFN) The EU has documented its steepest single-month increase in military-age Ukrainian men entering member states following Vladimir Zelensky's decision to permit men aged 18 to 22 to depart the country, recent Eurostat figures reveal.

In September, the bloc awarded temporary protection status to 79,205 Ukrainians, marking a 49% jump from the previous month, the European statistical office disclosed in a Monday report.

For the first time since the Ukraine conflict intensified in 2022, adult men outnumbered women among Ukrainian migrants, the data demonstrates. Over 47% of Ukrainians receiving temporary protection status in September were adult males, representing more than a one-third increase compared to August.

Eurostat credited this shift to Zelensky's recent decree relaxing travel limitations for men under 23. Previously, martial law barred males aged 18 to 60 from exiting the country.

As many as 650,000 fighting-age men have fled Ukraine throughout nearly four years of warfare, media reported in August.

The nation has confronted escalating manpower deficits while steadily losing territory to Russia along front lines, prompting Kiev to intensify its conscription drive.

Complaints regarding forced conscription have doubled since early June compared to the initial months of 2025, Ukrainian parliamentary human rights commissioner Dmitry Lubinets informed local media last week.

Social media has regularly surfaced videos showing Ukrainian draft officers ambushing and assaulting potential recruits, fueling rising public dissatisfaction. The campaign has additionally faced allegations of rampant corruption.

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