Elena Kovalskaya, the director of the Vsevolod Meyerhold State Theater and Cultural Center located in Moscow, the capital of Russia, has stepped down from her role in a protest against the invasion of Ukraine.

Recall that President Vladimir Putin early on Thursday ordered a broad military invasion of Ukraine with missile strikes on several Ukrainian cities.

Described as unjustified and premeditated by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, explosions rang out before dawn Thursday in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and several cities near the frontline and along the country’s coasts.

Announcing her resignation on her social media accounts, Kovalskaya brands Putin a ‘murderer’, adding that she refuses to work with one.

“Friends, in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I am resigning. You can’t work for a killer and get paid by him,” she wrote.

“I will bring my projects — the ones I have initiated — to the end, on a voluntary basis,” Kovalskaya said.

Following her resignation, the theatre which was named after late Russian playwright Vsevolod Meyerhold thanked Kovalskaya for her courage.

The theatre noted that Russia’s relentless aggression in Ukraine has “now come into tragic conflict with our mission.”

“We cannot be silent about this. We only have this left to say: ‘No to war,'” the performing arts venue said in the social media post. “War is much more than disrespect for a person and much more horrifying. War is the death of a person, it is the killing of people.”

Meanwhile, Putin who had massed between 150,000 and 200,000 troops along the borders of Ukraine has threatened to retaliate against those who interfere with the Russia-Ukraine operation, in a surprise televised address on Thursday.

As of the time of filing this report, a total of 57 people have been killed and 169 wounded on the first day of the invasion, according to UK Metro who quoted the Ukrainian health minister.

Of the 57 casualties, most of whom are believed to be soldiers, at least 10 civilians including one child are believed to be among the dead.