Resident Olena Pozhydaieva works while charging her devices inside a support point, situated in a bomb shelter, during a long power blackout after critical civil infrastructure was hit by Saturday's Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Vyshhorod in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Dec. 29, 2025.
Digital transformation and reskilling are challenges during the best of times, but Ukraine's wartime achievements with technology deployment for its citizenry are a unique success story.
Despite the full-scale Russian invasion, which happened nearly four years ago and continues to this day, the Ukrainian government has continued working towards President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's goal of building a "state in a smartphone," an aim that has now evolved to becoming an "agentic state" as artificial intelligence advances.
The government is doing this via Diia, an integrated digital platform and super app, with access to streamlined public services, business resources, and digital literacy education.
"Our main goal is to make sure that every Ukrainian is competitive, has a high-paying job and is successful in life," said Valeriya Ionan, advisor to Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology. Ionan spearheads the free edutainment platform Diia.Education.
According to a government report, 60% of Ukrainians ages 18 to 70 use Diia to conduct online public services, up 24% since 2021. Ukraine has more than 160 public services available on the app, including e-marriage (one of Time's Best Inventions of 2024)
As for Diia.Education, it's used by nearly three million Ukrainians, 75% of whom complete their courses (this is exponentially higher than industry standards, which can be as low as 5%). This education has led to an increase in digital literacy of 12.5% in 2023 and 10.5% in 2025, the two most recent years when Ukraine published studies (after a decrease that traces back to high-skilled Ukrainians leaving the country during the war and rapid technological advancement).
Users of all ages can use the platform to improve digital skills, acquire certificates, learn how to use online services and discover new careers. All of this helps to keep people economically active during displacement, relocation, job loss, or career changes triggered by the war.
While emerging technology poses worries of job loss, digital literacy "can serve as a bridge to opportunities in emerging fields" and "further enhances access to remote work and the gig economy, creating employment opportunities for historically marginalized populations," according to global think tank UNU.
Plus, even basic digital literacy helps protect Ukrainians during what is widely considered the most technological war in history.
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