had to go through. i know it is a sickening feeling when you have to bury your colleagues. you are sorry they forced you to experience all of this. reporter: interestingly, even babchenko s wife did not know about the fact he was part of the operation. he came forward and apologized to her for what he called the hell she had been going through in the time that she thought that he was dead. ukrainians are calling this a brilliant operation. they are obviously very happy. russians for their part absolutely fuming. they ripped into the ukrainians and called all of it russo-phobic attacks. thank you, fred. new day is ten minutes away. we have alisyn camerota and bermujohn berman with us. if john says sorry i faked your death. what is your reaction? i m relieved he did not die.
look at how his grieving colleagues reacted as they watched the news live. at the press conference, babchenko apologized for the pain he caused them, and to his wife. olechka, he said, forgive me, please. and they released this video, the takedown, they claim, of the plot s mastermind. the kremlin denies it all, and many of babchenko s colleagues, while glad he s alive, are criticizing him for undermining the credibility of all journalists by participating in this police sting. david? terry moran, our thanks to you. there is still much more ahead on world news tonight this wednesday. the televangelist under fire, asking for donations to buy a $54 million jet. also, the deadly plane crash. the aircraft slamming into a residential neighborhood. investigators on the scene. the crane collapse late today. the massive construction equipment toppling over, crashing into a home. there are injuries reported tonight. and breaking developments as we came on involving harvey weinst
learn more at cancercenter.com/experts thing 1 tonight, i promise you has a happy ending but it sure does not start out that way. yesterday in ukraine, reports of a horrible murder. officials announced that prominent russian journalist
announcing it was all staged. i apologize to my wife for all the hell she had to do through, babchenko said. news of his murder sparked an outcry. supporters laying flowers at memorials and blaming russia for ordering the hit. babchenko is a critic of vladimir putin. while russia denied involvement, many of putin s critics have been shot or poisoned over the years including opposition leaders right next to the kremlin. he was shot in the pack five times right in front of his girlfriend, but this time ukraine security forces say it was a sting operation which led to the arrest of a man allegedly paid $40,000 by moscow to organize the murder. there was no other way, babchenko said, but many are asking will the hoax create doubts about other reporters actually murdered for doing their jobs? all right. our thanks to richard engel for
a criminal case against president trump s long-time lawyer and fixer, michael cohen. david? kyra phillips live in washington. kyra, thank you. overseas, and to ukraine tonight. a stunning twist, 24 hours after authorities claimed a russian reporter was gunned down inside his home. that reporter suddenly surprised everyone today, appearing before the cameras alive and well. he had helped foil the plot. here s abc s chief foreign correspondent terry moran. reporter: police surround a crime scene in kiev. arkady babchenko, a veteran russian war correspondent and crusading anti-putin journalist living in ukraine, gunned down, police said. shot in the back. this sketch of a suspect on the loose. ukrainian authorities blaming russia. and then, this. babchenko, very much alive. it was all staged, the authorities said, including a picture of babchenko playing dead on the ground, all part of an operation to foil what they claim was a real russian assassination plot.