The Russian invasion of Ukraine is an invasion launched by Russia against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, as the campaign began after a long military build-up, and the Russian recognition of the unilaterally declared Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, followed by the entry of the Russian armed forces into the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine on the 21st. February 2022. On February 24, after a speech in which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation to "demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine," bombing began on sites across the country, including areas in the capital, Kiev.