Alexander Garnaev, a Russian test pilot who was awarded one of his country's highest honors, said this week that his decision to resign from his post in protest of the invasion of Ukraine caused a backlash.

Garnaev, who was awarded "Hero of the Russian Federation" in 1998, served as an air force test pilot for three decades and was eventually made chairman of the board of the Club of Heroes, a group made up of "creators and testers of aviation and space equipment," until he resigned last month over the war in Ukraine, according to the Independent.

He said in a recent interview that after he announced his resignation, he "was immediately pressured" by his colleagues.

"I was pressured by one of my peers, who until that moment was my friend, Hero of Russia, with whom we worked together, with whom I flew. The whole laugh is that he himself graduated from the Kharkov [Kharkiv in Ukraine] Aviation School, graduated with honors; he was born in the Sumy region.

"After graduating from college, he worked as an instructor pilot, served as an officer in the Kharkov and Poltava regions ... and so I ask myself, 'What is happening to people here?'"

However, he noted that "this is only one kind of reaction. And the second type of reaction is just the opposite. On the sly, so that no one would know, a wave of approval from my colleagues fell on me. But more importantly, there was approval from their children! People with whom I had had no contact at all."

Garnaev added that he has volunteered to serve as a negotiator for Russian prisoners in Ukraine, saying, "it is unbearable for me to see our guys, including those I know personally, to see how much they suffer. This is unbearable for me ... and I would like to get permission from the authorities for this work. With the approval of the authorities, I am ready to deploy a humanitarian and humane mission."

When asked when and how society will learn about "the final figures for human losses," Garnaev said, "First, society will know. Secondly, society will be horrified. Or at first, society will be horrified, and then find out. These two events will have a very small time interval. They will happen almost at the same time. When is another question."

• Yellen: Russia Invasion Will Have 'Enormous Economic Repercussions'
• UN Assembly Suspends Russia From Top Human Rights Council