diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0415601620
--- /dev/null
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+## 0.45.1 - 2024-08-19
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 630d1052de..ff12df2fbb 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.45.1-SNAPSHOT
+0.45.1