Chancellor Friedrich Merz and seven other heads of state and government are calling for an EU entry ban for Russian soldiers who are or were involved in the war against Ukraine to be examined.
Mar 14, 2026, 6:21 a.mMar 14, 2026, 6:21 a.m
The possible entry of fighters into the Schengen area poses a serious risk to internal security, according to a letter from politicians to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President António Costa.
The people could therefore commit violent crimes, become active in criminal networks or extremist movements or support hostile activities by Russia.
The danger is seen as particularly great because the Ukraine fighters include more than 180,000 convicted criminals who were recruited from Russian prisons and sent to the front.
Topic for EU summit
According to the letter’s signatories, the issue is so serious that it needs political attention at the highest level and a coordinated European response. Merz and the heads of state and government from Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden therefore want to put it on the agenda at the EU summit next Thursday.
Estonia had already launched an initial initiative on possible entry bans a few weeks ago. A background paper from January available to the German Press Agency states that an estimated 1.5 million Russian nationals have taken part in combat operations since 2022 and around 640,000 are still actively deployed.
Their common characteristics are combat experience and the use of force, including likely involvement in war crimes and other atrocities against the Ukrainian population. All EU and Schengen states would have to impose an entry ban and deny them visas and residence permits for identified Russian nationals who took part in the war of aggression against Ukraine.
(sda/dpa)