A Russian state television journalist who denounced the war in Ukraine during a live broadcast has explained that she could no longer stay silent.

Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at Channel One, appeared behind a news anchor on Monday holding a sign that said, "No War."

In an interview with Reuters news agency on Wednesday, Ovsyannikova said the invasion of Ukraine was like a "trigger" that brought back vivid images from her childhood in Chechnya in southern Russia, where Moscow fought two wars against Chechen separatists.

She said she understood and could feel what the people in Ukraine are going through.

Ovsyannikova expressed hope that more people in Russia would follow her lead and protest against the invasion of Ukraine.

Multiple Russian media outlets report that news anchors and journalists at other state-run TV stations have left their jobs since the invasion began on February 24.

NTV said one of its long-time high-profile journalists quit due to health reasons. But there's been speculation that there is opposition to the invasion within Russia's state media, which the administration of President Vladimir Putin uses to promote propaganda.