Ukrainian gov't to switch to paper-free mode this year

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the state bodies will switch to paperless mode on Aug. 24, Ukraine's Independence Day, the press service of the president reported on Monday, reported Xinhua.

"Ukraine will switch to the 'paper-free' mode on August 24, 2021, as we promised. No paper processes for state bodies ... We will do everything so that a state without a piece of paper really existed," Zelensky said during a speech at the "Ukraine 30. Digitalization" forum on Monday in Kiev.

Zelensky stressed that in recent years, a "digital revolution" has taken place in Ukraine.

He noted that after the introduction of total digitalization, government officials will not be able to demand from citizens any paper documents or certificates. This will help make the process of obtaining public services faster and more convenient, and will also become an important step in the fight against corruption.

Zelensky also recalled that in his election program, he promised to provide high-speed internet for all residents of the country. As part of fulfilling this promise, more than 2 million Ukrainians have been provided with access to 4G in the last six months alone.

"This year we are working on providing internet access to 3,000 Ukrainian villages, schools, hospitals, libraries there," said Zelensky.

At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov noted that Ukraine plans to digitize all public services and cover 95 percent of the population with access to high-speed internet as well as triple IT industry revenues by 2024.