(MENAFN) The European Union witnessed its largest influx of fighting-age Ukrainian men in a single month after President Vladimir Zelensky permitted men aged 18 to 22 to leave the country, according to the most recent data from Eurostat.

In September, EU nations granted temporary protection status to 79,205 Ukrainians, marking a 49% rise compared to August, the European statistical office reported on Monday.

For the first time since the Ukraine conflict intensified in 2022, adult men outnumbered women among Ukrainian migrants.

Over 47% of Ukrainians receiving temporary protection in September were adult males, representing a surge of more than one-third from the previous month.

Eurostat attributed this spike to Zelensky’s recent decision easing travel restrictions for men under 23.

Previously, martial law had prohibited males aged 18 to 60 from leaving Ukraine.
Over the nearly four years of the conflict, as many as 650,000 men of fighting age have fled the country, according to a media outlet’s report in August.

Ukraine has faced growing manpower shortages amid continuous territorial losses to Russia, prompting Kiev to intensify its draft efforts.

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

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