The Russian military shot dead a Ukrainian musician in his own home after he refused to attend a concert in occupied Kherson, Kyiv’s Ministry of Culture reports, The Guardian writes.

Conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko refused to participate in the concert “organized by the occupiers with the aim of demonstrating the so-called “improvement of peaceful life” in Kherson,” the ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page.

The concert on October 1 was supposed to be given by the Gilea chamber orchestra, whose chief conductor was Kerpatenko, but “categorically refused to cooperate with the occupiers,” the report says.

Kerpatenko, who was also the chief conductor of the Kherson Music and Drama Theater named after Mykola Kulish, published defiant messages on his Facebook page until May.

The prosecutor’s office of the Kherson region opened an official investigation “on the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder.” It is reported that family members outside Kherson lost contact with the conductor in September.

Condemnation of Ukrainian and international artists was swift. “Russia’s history of applying a do-or-die policy to artists is nothing new. Its history goes back a hundred years,” said Finnish-Ukrainian conductor Dalia Stasevska, who was due to conduct the Last Night of the Proms at London’s Albert Hall last month before it was canceled due to the Queen’s death.

“I have seen too much silence from Russian colleagues,” she said. “Could it be time for Russian musicians, especially those who live and work abroad, to finally step up and speak out against the actions of the Russian regime in Ukraine?”