Young Ukrainian men are streaming to Denmark following new rules in Ukraine: 'It is a new situation for the community'

Young Ukrainian men are streaming to Denmark after new rules in Ukraine: 'It's a new situation for the commune'

More young Ukrainian men are fleeing the war in Ukraine and coming to Denmark. This could be related to the lifting of travel restrictions, according to an expert.

Currently, Aarhus Municipality is preparing for the arrival of 232 Ukrainians, of whom 113 are men between the ages of 18 and 22. This is a significant increase compared to the seven young Ukrainians the municipality received in September.

- We are not used to receiving this target group. It's completely new for us, says Bine Jenshøj Elmose, who is the head of job and integration in Aarhus Municipality.

The Danish Immigration Service has visited the Ukrainian men, and in the coming time, the municipality will find housing, jobs, and possibly education for the arriving Ukrainians. And with this new group, there are some other conditions.

- These young men are coming with a different approach than the women in their 30s with small children. There are many single men who are coming right now, and they will need a different type of housing than the women. In addition, they all need to have a job or be in a job training program, says Bine Jenshøj Elmose.

Before the municipalities receive the young men, the information is sparse. They know their names and ages, but have minimal knowledge of their life situation when they pick them up at the train station.

Controversial ban

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According to DR News' information, it is not only in Aarhus that they are seeing a larger influx of young Ukrainian men. The recent increase is believed to be due to the lifting of the travel ban for Ukrainian men aged 18-22 in late August.

- We are seeing this increase in several places in Europe. Poland has seen an increase of 10,000 new young Ukrainians just last month. Norway is also seeing more young men come. We can expect this to continue at least for the rest of the year, says Sofie Rose, postdoc at the Center for War Studies at the University of Southern Denmark.

The travel ban was introduced to ensure that the young men were available for the military. They could only be forced into the Ukrainian army when they were 25 years old.

And the fear of being sent to war is now causing many to leave, according to the expert.

- There has been a lot of criticism of the travel ban among the population - especially among the young. Most of the people I have spoken to fear being in the military.

- Therefore, many 22-year-olds are leaving, as it is the last chance to leave the country, says Sofie Rose.

Important reception

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In the special law for Ukrainians, it states that they must have a job or job training within four weeks. This is one of the requirements that is currently causing a strain on the resources of Aarhus Municipality. Volume is something completely different than they have been used to.

- We are facing a resource challenge because we have to take in so many at once. We simply don't have enough businesses in our partnership network to fill the current need, says Bine Jenshøj Elmose.

Therefore, she hopes that more businesses will help to get the young Ukrainians into work. It is indeed a special task to receive this specific target group.

- Many of these young men are coming alone and without a network. It makes it more challenging to integrate them - both socially and on the labor market. We need to think more targeted about their needs and background, says Bine Jenshøj Elmose.

It is important that the municipality also has other things in mind with this group of Ukrainians, according to Niels Svankjær Christensen, who is the head of the integration efforts at the Red Cross.

- They are traveling in some formative and important years. They may have left their education or a start on the job market. There can also be feelings of guilt associated with leaving Ukraine at a critical time, says Niels Svankjær Christensen.

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