New Delhi, July 15 -- BRUSSELS - For the roughly one million Ukrainian men of military age currently holding temporary protection status in European Union countries, Wednesday's decision begins a countdown. The EU's Council of ambassadors agreed to extend temporary protection for Ukrainians until March 4, 2028 but added a condition that will, starting March 2027, bar men aged 23 to 60 from receiving the status unless they can show they have fulfilled their military obligations in Ukraine.

The requirement places a legal framework around a political pressure campaign that European governments have been running for months. Under Ukraine's martial law, men between 23 and 60 are generally prohibited from leaving the country, with exemptions f...