At a different media briefing in the same venue, a reconnaissance officer called Vladimir who had been captured told a group of international reporters, "Our government told us we need to liberate the civilian population. I want to tell Russian servicemen: lay down your arms and leave your stations, don't come here. Everyone wants peace here."
Vladimir then went a big step further, saying: "I want to tell our commander-in-chief to stop terror acts in Ukraine because when we come back we'll rise against him."
Another reconnaissance officer at the same event echoed the sentiment, addressing Putin directly.
"You won't hide this for long. There are many like us here. Sooner or later, we'll come home."
Speaking to CNN, Maxim, the pilot, became emotional about the suffering inflicted on civilians since the invasion.
He said they were aware of what had happened in places like Mariupol, where nearly 1,600 people have been killed since the invasion began.
"It was a horrifying fact, not just because it is a crime. It's vandalism. You cannot forgive such things. To bomb a maternity ward?" he said.
"It's the most perverse f**king form of neo-Nazism, neo-fascism. Who could think of such a thing?"
Another pilot, whose first name is Alexei, added quietly, "It's not really up to us, who to bomb, what to bomb. It's a command."