Dima Nova, a 34-year-old Russian pop star, was found dead Sunday after an apparent drowning, the Daily Wire reported. The musician was known to be an anti-war critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Nova, whose real name is Dmitry Svirgunov, was apparently attempting to cross the Volga river with friends and his brother, Roma, when he and another person fell through the ice.  The river is located in the Yaroslavl region, which lies northeast of Russia's capital city.

As the founder of the electronic pop group Cream Soda, Nova was known for the song "Aqua Disco," which was often used to protest the invasion of Ukraine both before and after it began. The lyrics slam Putin for his extravagant mansions worth an alleged $1.3 billion.

The strong strikes at Putin's lavish lifestyle and ridicules his arrogance. "The king of leisure,/ I will feel super here," one lyric said.

"Aqua Disco,/ Here I am by the word super,/ Add duper," another part of the song added.

Prior to that, the song was played at protests following the 2021 arrest of resistance leader Alexei Navalny. Those protesting were also jailed by the thousands, fueling the anti-Putin sentiment.

Now Nova has died under mysterious circumstances. Cream Soda's Instagram page broke the news of his demise after his body was recovered and identified.

"An official introduction took place today at 9:00. Dima and [his friend] Goshi are no more," a translation of the post stated. "We had a tragedy last night," the post went on.

"Our Dima Nova, in the company of friends, was walking along the Volga and fell under the ice," the social media statement continued. “The Ministry of Emergency Situations are still looking for his brother Roma and friend, Gosha Kiselev."

"Aristarchus, our friend who also fell under the ice, was caught, but could not be saved. As soon as we have information from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, we will inform you."

The musician's death comes as Putin continues his aggression against Ukraine and may be forging an alliance with China, Fox News reported. On Tuesday, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an economic agreement on the second day of talks between the two powerful nations.

The meeting has demonstrated a "friendship without limits" between Russia and China. It has also yielded an alliance to meet China's energy needs using Russia's resources.

"We were just discussing a good project, the new Power of Siberia 2 pipeline via Mongolia," Putin said to his Chinese counterpart at the start of the meeting. "Practically all the parameters of that agreement have been finalized."

The death of Nova is a tragic loss. However, the situation in Russia that may or may not have led to his demise is truly frightening.