Thousands of Ukrainian young men aged 18-22 have crossed the border with Poland following Kyiv’s decision to relax wartime border restrictions for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
According to the Polish authorities, there has been a spike in the numbers of crossing by young men. An additional 10,000 crossed in just seven days, representing a 10-fold increase.
The change of policy by Ukraine marks a departure from strict regulations introduced in 2022, which barred men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country unless granted exemptions, with those 25 and older subject to military conscription.
On August 26, Ukrainian authorities introduced new rules, framing them as an opportunity for young men to pursue education or work abroad.
Prime Minister Yulia Syrydenko, who announced the move on August 26, posted on platform Telegram: “This applies to all citizens in this age group. The decision also concerns citizens who, for various reasons, are located outside Ukraine. We want Ukrainians to maintain links with Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier signaled that his government was weighing an easing of the travel ban, saying it would “help many young Ukrainians maintain ties with Ukraine and realise their potential”.
He was referring to the fact that previously those who managed to leave before 2022 would be stopped from leaving Ukraine should they return because of the war time restrictions on young men crossing the border. This meant that young Ukrainians were not returning to their home country for fear of being stuck for an indefinite period without the right to leave.
But the change has led to expressions of concern from Ukrainian business, with companies signalling that the rules change will cause a serious drain of young people leading to labour shortages.
Some commentators in Ukraine said the rule change related to internal Ukrainian politics, with Zelensky thinking of a future election in which he wants to have young voters on his side, as he did when he won the presidency by a landslide in 2019.
The latest move comes at a time when Poland is preparing to limit benefits for Ukrainians living in Poland and when Poles have become more sceptical about migration from that direction, with youth unemployment rising.
In May 2025 the unemployment rate in the under-25 group was 13.5 per cent in Poland, a rise of 27.4 per cent on last year.
Poland took in almost 2 million refugees in the months immediately following the Russian invasion, with hundreds of thousands housed by Polish families, while some travelled on to other European Union States and the UK.
The country also gave the Ukrainian refugees full employment rights and the ability to use the health, education and social insurance services.
Relations have soured over Ukraine’s reluctance to tackle historical issues between the two countries, including the slaughter of more than 100,000 civilian Poles by Ukrainian nationalists during the Second World War and, recently, Ukrainian grain and food produce flooding the Polish market.
