EU to refuse refuge to military-age Ukrainian men

The EU has proposed a stoppage to granting Ukrainian men of fighting age refugee protection to settle in the bloc, while extending the right for others from the country to stay beyond 2027.

Brussels said the change follows a request from Kyiv, whose army has struggled with manpower shortages as Russia's war of invasion grinds into a fifth year.

"Our proposal provides that temporary protection should not be granted to newly arriving persons who are not allowed to leave Ukraine because of their military obligations," Magnus Brunner, the European Union's internal affairs chief told journalists.

The 27-nation EU granted Ukrainians temporary protection after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, a measure rolled over several times and currently set to expire next March.

About 4.4 million people currently benefit from the scheme, which grants them residence permits, the right to work, and access to medical assistance, social welfare and education.

Under the commission's proposal the welcome will be extended until March 2028, including for military-age men already living in the bloc.

But newcoming males aged 23 to 60 - who are prohibited from leaving the country under Ukraine's martial law - will be excluded from the scheme once the plan is adopted by EU member states, the commission said, noting that however they will still be able to apply for asylum.

Brussels said it will also develop a pilot programme to support Ukrainians who wish to return home with practical support in areas such as jobs, housing, and education.

"As the war continues, our support must also continue," Mr Brunner said, adding that the commission's proposal took into account "Ukraine's evolving defence needs and recovery needs".

"This is something the Ukrainians asked us to do," he said of the decision to limit protection for men of fighting age.

Adult men account for about 27% of all Ukrainians currently benefiting from EU protection, with women making up 43% of the total and minors another 30%, according to EU data.

Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic host the largest communities.

Russia's Lavrov contradicts Rubio, calls for clarity on US mediation role

Separately, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for "clarification" of the US role in trying to end the war in Ukraine.

In written answers to media questions, Mr Lavrov escalated an argument with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about whether presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had reached an understanding on the outlines of a peace deal when they met in Alaska last year.

Russia says there was indeed such an understanding, which it has often referred to as "the spirit of Anchorage".

But Mr Rubio, speaking to reporters on yesterday, denied that any agreement was reached.

"There was a proposal in Alaska, but there was no agreement in Alaska. If there had been an agreement, we would have had an end of the war," Mr Rubio said.

Mr Lavrov, in response, laid out the most detailed version yet of what took place at the summit last August.

He said Mr Putin went through a series of US proposals that Mr Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff had brought to Moscow days earlier, listing them point by point and checking with Mr Witkoff - who was present at the summit along with Mr Trump and Mr Rubio - that he, Mr Putin, had noted them correctly.

Mr Lavrov, who was also at the meeting, said Mr Witkoff had answered each time in the affirmative.

"Therefore, when my colleague M. Rubio says that there were only proposals in Alaska but no agreement, it raises a question regarding what we actually mean by 'agreement'," Mr Lavrov said.

"If one side - in this case, the US - put on the table its proposals for a settlement and a way to approach this crisis, and the other side expressed its consent to those proposals, then claiming there was no agreement seems rather inelegant," he said.

He added that the "entire situation" around the US role needed to be clarified.

Critical comments by Mr Lavrov and other Russian officials this week point to a shift in Moscow's appraisal of Washington's efforts to end the Ukraine war, which have stalled since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran in February.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Mr Trump and other Western leaders last week that Kyiv was turning the tide of the war with its strikes deep inside Russian territory, including on oil refineries and industrial plants.

Russia disputes that and says it will achieve victory on the battlefield if diplomatic efforts fail to produce a peace settlement. Its forces control around a fifth of Ukraine after more than four years of war.

The Kremlin repeated that it valued Mr Trump's mediation efforts and hoped they would resume.

But spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked if Moscow considered the US a neutral mediator, said there was no such thing as absolute neutrality because the US was still selling weapons and providing technological support to Ukraine.

Russia-annexed Crimea declares 'emergency' amid Ukraine attacks

Meanwhile, authorities in Russian-annexed Crimea have declared an "emergency situation" in a bid to ease the fallout from increasing Ukrainian aerial attacks on the peninsula.

The region is already grappling with fuel shortages and power cuts triggered by Ukrainian attacks on the infrastructure across southern Russia that supplies the peninsula.

"A decision has been made... to sign decrees declaring a regional-level emergency situation in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol," the Moscow-installed governor Sergey Aksyonov said in a post on Telegram.

The emergency situation would allow for a "rapid resolution of tasks related to ensuring the stable operation of all sectors", Mr Aksyonov said in the post.

Kyiv says its air attacks are fair response to Russia's near-daily barrages targeting Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure.

In a statement published yesterday, he acknowledged that Crimea was facing a "challenging time" and that the "fuel situation" was the most difficult.

"I cannot say exactly how long it will take, nor can I publicly disclose the specific action plan. However, we are taking action," he said in the statement.

He also conceded that the Russian army were unable to fully protect the peninsula.

"Unfortunately... there are no air defence systems in the world that are absolutely perfect in terms of security and effectiveness," he said.

Russia seized and annexed Crimea in 2014, though the vast majority of countries - including many of Moscow's allies - do not recognise the move.

Ukraine says Crimea is an inalienable part of its territory and will never formally cede it.

Kyiv has targeted Russian energy infrastructure throughout the war, launched by Russia's full-scale offensive in 2022, in retaliatory strikes designed to cut-off vital revenues for the Kremlin.