largest one supporting those with atim in tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. a senior ukrainian defense official declaring the kyiv region liberated as russian forces retreat from some towns in northern ukraine, leaving horror in the streets. and we warn you, these images are graphic. putin's troops pulling away from areas around the capital city of kyiv. in one town, utter devastation where homes and schools once stood and dead bodies in the streets. tonight, the dire warning from ukraine's president zelenskyy that russia will redeploy, setting their sights eastward on the donbas region. ukraine remaining defiant. zelenskyy refusing to back down as his forces regain ground. new images of ukraine's troops checking for explosives planted or left behind from the russians, as the u.s. reportedly plans to help transfer soviet era tanks to ukraine.

in the southeast today, russians unleashing gunfire, and explosives breaking up a peaceful protest. and pope francis considering a trip to the capital city. his strong words seemingly aimed at vladimir putin. and tonight we hear from the refugee children displaced by war. more than 700,000 in poland alone. but only 75,000 enrolled in school there. our team reporting from across the region. also tonight, will smith resigns from the academy. what this means for the oscar winning actor's career. the academy's response, and denzel washington seen speaking with smith backstage breaking his silence about that stunning moment. sarah palin is running for congress. tonight, more on the special election that the former vice presidential candidate is shaking up. the disturbing auto theft trend on the rise nationwide. in texas, an off-duty deputy killed in the attempted theft of a catalytic converter. tonight, the latest on the investigation and how much thieves can make on this

critical car part. the urgent manhunt under way tonight for a new york mobster who escaped federal custody. and the extraordinary story of two holocaust survivors and their chance reunion nearly 80 years in the making. good evening. thanks for joining us on this saturday. i'm whit johnson. as we come on the air, a senior ukrainian defense official says the region around the capital of kyiv has been liberated from russian forces. but new warnings -- those forces are now regrouping in the east. ukrainian troops now moving in, finding absolute devastation in the wake of the russian withdrawal. and we warn you, these images may be difficult to watch. this is what's left of the town of bucha. one saying russian soldiers fired indiscriminately at civilians, leaving bodies where they fell. ukraine accusing the russians of

planting mines as they leave. these satellite images confirm the retreat. most of the russian forces have abandoned a strategically crucial airport just six miles outside kyiv. in the face of the carnage, president zelenskyy remaining ever defiant, saying the ukrainian people will not accept any outcome besides victory. dramatic new video showing ukrainian citizens in the south coming under fire as they protested the russian occupation. several people injured. and tonight, pope francis condemning the russian invasion, saying he is considering a trip to ukraine. our team reporting tonight from across the region. abc's senior national correspondent terry moran leads us off from lviv. >> reporter: tonight, a senior ukrainian defense official declared that the entire region of the capital city of kyiv has been liberated, as the russians retreat from much of northern ukraine. but they leave behind a grim landscape of death and devastation. in bucha, northwest of kyiv, a hellish scene. bodies lying in the street. bombed out cars and homes. entire neighborhoods destroyed

in the fighting. but the ukrainian forces are now back in control. and residents who stayed here through the battle say they witnessed russian soldiers gunning down civilians. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: this man says, those people were just walking and they shot them without any reason, bang. these new satellite images confirm the russian retreat, showing most of the russian forces have abandoned the strategically crucial antonov airport, just six miles outside of kyiv. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelenskyy, said that the russians are slowly moving out, but he adds they're redeploying to eastern ukraine, setting up a potentially decisive battle ahead in the donbas region. zelenskyy says he wants more heavy weapons, and today, "the new york times" reports that the u.s. will work with allies to transfer soviet-made tanks to strengthen ukrainian forces in the donbas. but the danger in the north is far from over. ukrainian military officials say russian forces are planting mines in homes and in the streets, even under the dead as they fall back.

this pyrotechnics team works in liberated towns around kyiv, checking under every bush, in every hole for explosive devices left behind. officials say in just 24 hours, they found over 1,500 units in the town of dmytrivka alone, where under a layer of mist, smoke is still rising from the wreckage of these tanks. meanwhile in the south in zaporizhzhia -- russians forces fired explosives to break up a protest, reportedly injuring four people. the region is home to ukraine's largest nuclear power plant. the humanitarian crisis in the besieged southeastern city of mariupol deepens by the day. the red cross once again trying to get a humanitarian convoy through. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: tamila, an evacuee, fled her city, saying she only has one question -- why? she says she lost everything and she can't find her son. and tonight, the acclaimed ukrainian photojournalist

maksim levin was found dead near kyiv, killed while covering this war. levin leaves behind a wife and four children. he was quoted as saying, every ukrainian photographer dreams of taking a photo that will stop the war. and as the war engulfs so many, pope francis told reporters he is considering a trip to kyiv to call for peace. and he issued a fiery statement, clearly placing the blame for the war on vladimir putin, though not directly naming him, declaring -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: we thought that invasions of other countries, savage fighting in the streets, and atomic threats were a grim memory of the past. but the cold wind of war, which brings just death, destruction and hate, violently tore down everyone and everyday life. >> those strong words from the pope today. terry moran joins us from lviv. terry, you're learning new details on what the ukrainians are saying about peace negotiations tonight? >> reporter: that's right, whit. tonight on ukrainian television, a member of the ukrainian

negotiating team said enough progress had been made on key points that the outline of a peace deal is ready to be discussed by president zelenskyy and vladimir putin face-to-face. such a meeting would probably take place in turkey. no time frame. a russian negotiator said there is an outline, but the ukrainian side is overstating the progress. whit? >> terry, thank you. meantime, millions of ukrainians are now searching for a new life in neighboring countries, having fled the fighting. more than 2 million have now made their way to poland, many of them families with school-aged children. a lucky few have been able to get back into the classroom, resuming their education in their newfound home. abc's mireya villareal got to meet the new kids in class learning to cope with a new language, anew friends and the memory of war they left behind. >> reporter: poland tonight struggling to absorb the 2.4 million ukrainians who've made it across the border. among them more than

700,000 school-aged children. the most fortunate among them continuing their education here at warsaw's public school 98. 13-year-old anastasia has already traveled a difficult road. what's been the hardest thing coming to a new school? >> i don't know how -- how they are talking to each other. and i don't know their jokes. it's difficult to understand their mind. >> reporter: anastasia's father is fighting in ukraine. her peers reluctant to talk about the war. one friend fearing it would upset her. >> she said, i can't ask you about it because it's scary, and it's not polite to ask you. >> reporter: and you like that? >> yeah. >> reporter: you don't want to talk about it. >> mnh-mnh. >> reporter: for some ukrainian students, school is a welcome distraction. what is the best thing about the school? sylvia says the teachers are

nice, the problems are fun, and that leaves less time for worrying. >> people don't hate us. they are -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> they welcome us. >> reporter: they accept them. >> yeah. >> reporter: to help the kids settle in, the school hired tatiana turkovlevich as a teacher's aide. she immigrated to warsaw from ukraine three years ago. do you see a lasting impact on the kids, how this could affect them for the rest of their life? [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: tatiana says she knows it's a huge trauma for the children but hopes they forget about it because, she says, they need to forget. whit, of those 700,000 school-aged ukrainian children, just about 75,000, a little over 10%, are actually enrolled in polish schools right now. the challenge of finding space and teachers is enormous. the federal government here is doing all they can to help, including giving parents about

$70 a year to try and buy school supplies. whit? >> mireya villareal with the stories of the kids tonight. thank you. tune into "this week" tomorrow, george stephanopoulos will discuss the biden administration's efforts to aid ukraine in an exclusive interview with white house chief of staff ron klain. we turn to the oscars at home and the slap that is still reverberating through the entertainment world and beyond. the academy moving ahead with disciplinary proceedings against will smith for hitting chris rock at sunday's ceremony. the announcement coming after smith's resignation from the academy, and how that could impact the oscar winner's career. here's abc's zohreen shah in los angeles. >> uh-oh! >> reporter: tonight, the fallout growing from will smith's oscar night assault of chris rock. the academy saying they received and accepted smith's immediate resignation and will move forward with disciplinary proceedings after smith

interrupted sunday's ceremony, slapping rock on stage when the comedian made an unscripted joke about smith's wife. >> wow. will smith just smacked the [ bleep ] out of me. >> reporter: in his resignation, smith calling his conduct, shocking, painful, and inexcusable, adding, i betrayed the trust of the academy. i deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. smith's resignation means he'll never vote for who wins an oscar again, but is still eligible to win one himself. and he loses membership to one of the world's most exclusive clubs. >> there are prominent eople like tom hanks and whoopi goldberg who serve on the board of governors. so he doesn't get that status anymore. >> reporter: and tonight, one of smith's fellow best actor nominees, denzel washington, who was seen talking to smith shortly after the incident, breaking his silence during a religious leadership summit. industry publications report

washington saying, i couldn't have stayed in my seat. and that the two men prayed together. washington quoted asking, who are we to condemn? i don't know all the ins and outs of the situation, but i know the only solution was prayer. >> zohreen shah joining us now. beyond his resignation from the academy, will smith could still face additional consequences. >> reporter: he could. the academy still plans to meet april 18th. they have several options. the most severe include banning will smith from ever going to the oscars again or banning him from ever being nominated. now, smith stars in the upcoming movie "emancipation". it is already getting oscar buzz. whit? >> zohreen, thank you. we turn to politics now. and former vice presidential candidate and alaska governor sarah palin hoping to make a comeback, filing papers to run for congress. palin out of office for 13 years but not out of the public eye. as abc white house correspondent karen travers tells us, palin

has an uphill battle. >> reporter: she shook up the race for the white house in 2008. >> drill, baby, drill. they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull -- lipstick. >> reporter: and tonight after nearly 13 years, sarah palin jumping back into politics, filing paper work at a elections office just one hour before the deadline to run for alaska's only seat in the house. and announcing her campaign on facebook writing, public service is a calling. america is at a tipping point. i knew i had to step up and join the fight. palin has strong name recognition, but she's joining a crowded field. more than 50 candidates running in this special election. >> sarah palin has been outside of politics for more than a decade, and she is quite a polarizing figure in alaska and beyond. it is far from clear whether she's going to be successful in this adventure. >> governor sarah palin. >> reporter: in 2008, john mccain shocked america when he picked palin to be his running mate. >> senator, i'm honored to be

chosen as your running meat. >> reporter: launching her from alaska governor to political star, immortalized on "saturday night live." >> and i can see russia from my house. >> reporter: even making an appearance herself. >> live from new york, it's saturday night! >> reporter: despite losing that race and then stepping down as governor, palin was a hero to what became the tea party movement. >> our next president of the united states, donald j. trump! >> reporter: out of office, palin staying in the spotlight, writing books, appearing on cable television, even starring in a reality tv show. this is the first time alaska this is the first time alaska will try a new way to vote work members of every party running against each other in a primary. the top four candidates will move on. they'll repeat that process in the fall to see who will win a fll term. whit? >> a race to watch. karen, thank you. tonight, a warning that iran may be planning to try to interfere in our midterm elections. the department of homeland security says iranian operators are researching the current american political landscape as

a prelude to attempting to stoke division. officials say iran may be trying to build on tactics employed two years ago using bogus social media accounts. they tried to link to far right groups. now to the murder of that off-duty sheriffs deputy in houston, killed during an attempted theft of a catalytic converter of his vehicle. the precious metals inside a major target for thieves. here's transportation correspondent gio benitez. >> reporter: tonight, the attempted theft of a pricey car part in a houston neighborhood leading to the death of an off-duty sheriff's deputy. he and his wife were just leaving this grocery store when they noticed three men by their car. police say he went to confront them, but they opened fire. >> got one down, shot in the chest. >> reporter: he fired back, hitting two of the men but losing his own life. >> he told his wife to run, to get away from danger as he put himself in harm's way to protect the rest of the community and

try to stop a crime. >> right now i see the vehicle. >> reporter: he was a 23-year veteran of the department, part of the harris county auto theft unit. police believe the three men were trying to steal his car's catalytic converter, a critical part of the muffler system. and it's happening all across the country. authorities say thieves can make up to $300 per converter. the precious metals in them soaring in value, now worth more than gold. >> if a hero is not safe in their own community, then the general public is not, and we're not going to tolerate that. >> reporter: tonight the officers' colleagues say he was a fighter and died protecting his wife. whit? >> gio benitez for us, thank you. we have much more ahead on "world news tonight" this saturday. the major change coming for new cars sold in the u.s. and new findings on how the omicron variant affects young children. oh! there's my little nephew. he looks more like dad every time i see him. -dad is old. -right. so, your message said you wanted to talk about insurance?

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to the "index" tonight. an urgent manhunt is under way for a notorious new york mobster who admitted to killing three people and attempting to kill two others. authorities say 64-year-old dominic taddeo had been imprisoned in florida before being transferred to a residential halfway house. he escaped federal custody march 28th, failing to return from an authorized medical appointment. taddeo would have likely been released in less than a year. next, two adults struck by lightning in tampa, florida, today while leaving a spring training game. authorities say a man in his 60s and a woman in her 20s were struck in the parking lot while

exiting the yankees/braves game as severe storms swept through. they were both transported to a hospital and are now in stable condition. and new data showing that california's experiencing one of its driest starts to spring in decades. officials conducting their big seasonal snow pack measurement, recorded two and a half inches of snow, just 4% of the average at this location. officials also found that statewide, snow pack is 38% of the average. that's after december saw record-breaking snowfall. many experts say that climate change is exacerbating the state's droughts. we we come back here, nearly 79 years apart and living just 40 miles away. the chance reunion of two holocaust survivors. ackie) i've made progress with my mental health. so when i started having unintentional body movements called tardive dyskinesia... i ignored them. but when the twitching and jerking in my face and hands affected my day to day... i finally had to say, 'it's not ok.' it was time to talk to my doctor about austedo.

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finally tonight, two holocaust survivors from the same labor camp and the emotional chance reunion nearly 80 years later. e- >> it was terrible. hunger was the worst thing in the camp. >> reporter: sam ron is a 97-year-old holocaust survivor. during world war ii, he was sent to multiple concentration camps and one labor camp in poland called pionki. >> that camp was hard work, very little food. >> reporter: these are actual photos of him and his family before and after their time in those camps. >> this is after the war. we all survived. >> reporter: now living in florida, he was recently the honorary speaker at an event hosted by the u.s. holocaust memorial museum. >> we emerged from the ashes, from the fires. >> reporter: sam had no idea what a surprise awaited him. among the 400 people attending, someone he hadn't seen in 79 years. jack waksal heard sam talk about

camp pionki and immediately recognized him. >> and i went to his table and i said, sam, you are alive. >> this one guy jumped out from the house and came over to kiss me. you're my brother! you're my brother! >> reporter: sam and jack both inmates at that same camp, then separated without knowing the other's fate until now. >> oh, i was all excited. this was unusual. it's 79 years now. we're 97 years old! >> you think it's never going to happen, but it did happen. >> reporter: two holocaust survivors reuniting by chance nearly eight decades later. >> it was an amazing story. it got me a lot of hope, you know? >> a truly special connection. we're so glad they found each other. thanks for watching. i'm whit johnson in new york. i'll see you on "gma" in the morning. have a great night.

>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc7 news.

dion: the demand in the bay area this weekend for second covid vaccine booster shot. abc7 news reporter cornell bernard are seeing a whole lot of interest. >> that's the second booster. >> she waste nod time getting her second covid booster shot because she's got a lot of living to catch up on with her family. >> i have three grandchildren. and i see them quite often. >> this former victoria secret store is now a county vaccine clinic inside the north gate mall where most people are looking for that fourth shot. >> i have risk factors, so i wanted to make sure i was covered. ready to party now. >> on tuesday, the c.d.c. recommended an additional booster for immuno compromised people and those over 50 who got their first booster that's four months ago. kimberly and richard fetcher were waitingnl