'We know who lives here' — German foreign minister floats giving Kyiv data on Ukrainian men eligible for conscription

Berlin could share information about draft-age Ukrainian men in Germany with Kyiv so Ukraine can contact them about potential military conscription, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in an interview with Bild on Sept. 8.

Wadephul floated the idea during the interview and agreed with CSU leader Markus Soder, who demanded that Ukrainian military-age men currently in Germany return to Ukraine.

"We know who lives here. Who receives social benefits, who is registered with local authorities, who holds residence status," Wadephul told Bild.

Germany could send this data to Kyiv, so Ukrainian authorities could contact the men about their conscription, said Wadephul. At the same time, the process of men returning to Ukraine should happen "without coercion," Wadephul said in the interview.

As the fifth year of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine goes on, mobilization has become one of the most contentious domestic issues in Ukraine.

Ukraine's military faces a growing need to replenish fighting units, build reserves, and allow existing soldiers to rotate off the front line. As Ukraine steps up its mobilization efforts, draft offices are often accused of forced conscription without compliance with fundamental civil rights and ill-treatment of conscripts.

Wadephul's comments came hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky said Germany is 'ready to provide' additional supplies of Patriot interceptors to Ukraine, on Sept. 8.

"In addition to PAC-2 interceptor missiles, Germany will further step up its continuous provision of AIM-9 air-to-air missiles from Bundeswehr stocks to provide greater quantities to Ukraine," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sept. 8, also committing to deliver additional IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine.