Ukraine and EU agree to extend temporary protection for Ukrainians

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, says Kyiv has reached an agreement with the EU on extending the status of temporary protection for Ukrainians, since "the security situation does not allow for any other decision".

As reported by Ukrinform, Stefanishyna noted that she regularly discusses the status of Ukrainians in the EU with Ylva Johansson, the EU Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs.

"I had a conversation with her yesterday [on 8 May – ed.]. We decided that the temporary protection status will be extended… because the security situation does not allow us to make any other decision," she said.

Stefanishyna stressed that Kyiv and Brussels have agreed that the temporary protection status will be reviewed in a way that would facilitate the gradual return of Ukrainians to Ukraine. "But so far, there are no conditions for such a decision," she stressed.

The EU adopted the mechanism of temporary protection for Ukrainians on 4 March 2022, after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and automatically extended it for one year. Last year, EU member states took the decision to extend the regime to March 2025.

Olha Stefanishyna has stated that Ukraine will not force military-age Ukrainian men to return from abroad.