The conductor of a Ukrainian orchestra was murdered in the occupied city of Kherson for refusing to participate in a concert produced by Russian authorities, the Ukrainian government said. “After Yuriy Kraptenko refused to cooperate with the Russians, Russian soldiers shot him in his home”
Yury Kraptenko – who was the chief conductor of the Kherson Philharmonic, as well as one of the city’s chamber orchestras – refused to join the performance celebrating the “improvement of peaceful life” in the occupied territory, Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture said. In response, the Russians murdered him. “On October 14, we learned of the brutal murder of the chief conductor of the Music and Drama Theater in Kherson,” the ministry added in a statement, “after Yuriy Kraptenko refused to cooperate with the Russians, Russian soldiers shot him at his home.”
Karptenko was a declared supporter of the Ukrainian government, after Kherson was occupied by Russia at the beginning of the war. He posted posts critical of Russia on his Facebook account until mid-May, when he toned down his overt opposition. It is not clear when Karptenko was shot dead. The Kherson District Regional Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that the conductor stopped communicating with friends and family sometime in September.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, “Yuri Kraptenko openly demonstrated his civil position and refused to leave the occupied Kherson” According to the website Kherson.online, before October 1, “International Music Day”, the occupiers together with collaborators planned a celebratory concert in Kherson with the participation of The famous chamber orchestra. According to Ukraine, “this concert was intended by the occupiers to demonstrate the so-called “restoration of peaceful life” in Kherson, however, the conductor of the orchestra Yury Kraptenko firmly refused to cooperate with the occupiers.”