Friedrich Merz, head of Germany's largest opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union, accused Ukrainian refugees of "social tourism."

 He said this on Bild TV.

 "We are now observing social tourism on the part of these refugees: to Germany, back to Ukraine, to Germany, back to Ukraine," Mertz said.

 The reason for this, according to Merets, was that initially refugees from Ukraine had the right to assistance in accordance with the Law on Assistance to Asylum Seekers, and since June they have been receiving basic support, i.e. the same benefits as recipients of assistance under the Hartz IV program (basic assistance for the unemployed. - Ed.).

 In his own words, Mertz expects even greater problems with refugees from Russia "if the federal government does what the Minister of the Interior has proposed, namely to grant access to the Federal Republic of Germany to virtually all persons who refuse to be mobilized for military service in Russia ". CDU is "categorically against" such steps.

 Interior Minister Nancy Feser said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that defectors who face severe repression usually receive international protection in Germany.