President Vladimir Putin officially ordered the deployment of Russia’s military in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in a televised address Thursday morning, MIA writes.

“I have decided to carry out a special military operation,” Putin said.

“Its goal is to protect the people who have been subjected to mistreatment and genocide for eight years.”

About an hour later Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared a state of war for the entire country, while Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that strikes were already hitting Ukrainian cities. Russia had launched a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” Kuleba tweeted.

“This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin.”