German government has no plans to reduce payments to Ukrainian refugees

This was stated at a briefing on Monday by his spokesman Steffen Gebestreit, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We do not plan any changes," the federal government spokesman said when asked to comment on the demands of some pitical forces to reduce financial assistance.

Gebestreit explained that the goal is to quickly integrate Ukrainians and give them the portunity to work.

"We want to put these pele to work," he stressed.

The spokesperson confirmed that there has been a recent debate on the issue.

In particular, the position CDU/CSU conservative bloc insists on cancelling civilian benefits for Ukrainians of military age. The liberals from the Free Democratic Party, which are part of the three-party coalition (and one of whose leaders is the head of the Ministry of Finance), would like to see only asylum-seeker benefits paid to newcomers. Currently, Ukrainian citizens who entered after the start of the full-scale invasion receive Bürgergeld, which is basically unemployment benefits that Germans themselves receive.

Read also: Finland plans to block entry for asylum seekers through Russia

As a reminder, there are currently 1.17 million Ukrainian asylum seekers in Germany. Their status in Germany is not refugee status.

On 13 June, the EU extended the protection status for Ukrainians for another year – until March 2026.