On 24 February, before 5:00 a.m. Kiev time, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine. In his speech, Putin said he had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory and that he supported the right of the Ukrainian people to self-determination. He said the purpose of the "operation" was to "protect the people" in the predominantly Russian-speaking region of Donbas who he claimed that "for eight years now, had been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kiev regime". Minutes later, Russian air strikes and ground forces were launched along a northern front from Belarus towards Kiev, a north-eastern front towards Kharkiv, a southern front from Crimea, and a south-eastern front from the Donbas. In response, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted martial law and ordered a general mobilisation.