BERLIN, APR 15: EU membership for Ukraine, European involvement in peace talks and a comprehensive ​bilateral drone deal were all on the agenda as Chancellor Merz hosted President Zelenskyy. A new consultation center has been opened in Berlin to provide advice and counsel for Ukrainians living in the German capital who would like to return home.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt opened the so-called “Unity Hub” alongside the Ukrainian Minister of Social Policy, Denys Uliutin, on Tuesday as part of inter-governmental consultations between the German and Ukrainian governments.

Dobrindt said the center was intended to function as a “connecting element to the homeland” for Ukrainians which could “provide answers to all questions regarding a future in Ukraine.”

Uliutin said the Berlin center was to be one of many across Europe aimed at bringing Ukrainian refugees together as a “community” and retaining links with Ukraine.

While the German Interior Ministry said the principal aim of the center was to “increase connections to Ukraine and encourage a desire to return,” the institutions would also offer help on integration in Germany, including language lessons, cultural offers and assistance in finding work.

As of February 2026, around 1.16 million Ukrainians live in Germany, around 60,000 of them in Berlin.