this is "nightline." tonight, business backlash. major brands from mcdonald's to coca cola joining cultural icons like new york's metropolitan opera to draw a line in the sand over russian aggression in ukraine. and joe biden taking action against russian oil and gas. >> defending freedom is going to cost. >> as americans find novel ways to make a difference. >> i want us to help in any way that i could. plus, the movie theater shooter speaking out for the first time since that shocking acquittal. curtis reeves opening up about the day he killed a man. >> had i left my gun at home, that's a good chance i wouldn't be here today.

>> why he still says he did the right thing. >> there will be people saying you shot chad olson because he threw popcorn in your face. >> "nightline" will be right back.

♪ ♪ today, some of the most iconic

brands on the planet taking action to suspend their operations in russia. joining store yesterday arts institutions, taking a stand against putin's war, and calling on russian artists to do the same. today was opening day for the soviet union's first mcdonald's. the largest mcdonald's in the world. >> 1990, moscow, with lines down the block. >> you like it? >> russians racing to embrace this iconic symbol, an index of democracy. a sign the cold war had ended. but today, more than 30 years later, those golden arches temporarily closed in moscow. and in over 800 locations across russia. the company, one of many corporate giants from star bucks to coca cola to american express, boycotting russia, drawing a line in the sand after the country's invasion of ukraine almost two weeks ago. >> there's economic reasons for this. sit not an easy economy to be based in right now, but it's also politically expedient.

people in general in america are on the side of these businesses pulling out of russia. >> reporter: thousands continuing to evacuate today under fragile and temporary cease-fires. but it's been an imperfect peace that ended at nightfall. [ explosions ] in sumy by the russian border, the red cross helping to get people out, as tanks can be seen firing nearby in video posted online. before the cease-fire came into effect, 21 people, including two children, were killed in the city overnight when the rez dn shall area was shelled. some convoys were able to leave frontline townss but evacuation in other cities failed. another urgent plea for support from ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy, addressing the uk parliament, he invoked winston churchill, saying we

will fight in the fields, and in the streets. joe biden taking direct aim at russia's economy, announcing today the u.s. will ban russian oil and energy imports. >> americans have rallied to support the ukrainian people and made it clear we will not be part of subsidizing putin's oil. >> reporter: that is the most significant financial weapon the u.s. has against putin. russia makes their money on energy. >> there will be costs here as well in the united states. i said i would level with the american people from the beginning. when i first spoke to this, i said detending freedom is going to cost. >> reporter: all this a cost some companies are willing to take. entertainment brothers, disney, u.p.s. and fedex halting deliveries. and tiktok and facebook cutting

off services to the country. airbnb has also stopped operating in russia and in belarus. but in ukraine, it's open for business. lucy dewitt, who lives in kansas, rented an apartment in kyiv for tonight. but she never intended to check in. instead, the 39-year-old wife and mom of two donated the $115 rental fee to her ukrainian apartment host. >> i got this idea from a person i follow on instagram, he put a screen shot up about people booking airbnbs in ukraine, and how that money impacts that person who is on the receiving end of that, and after i booked it, i immediately sent a message to the host and i said hey, i'm not coming, i'm from kansas city, but i wanted to help in any way i could, and i wanted to know that the people of america support you, and we are all behind you in this. >> reporter: it's an krd that's caught fire in the past few days.

airbnb ceo and co-founder tweeting, in 48 hours, 61,406 nights have been booked in ukraine. that's $1.9 million going to hosts in need. such a cool idea from our community. thank you. >> there's a lot of helpless feeling and just, you want to do something. it really appealed to me, because i could directly and immediately see the impact that my dollars had on this person. >> reporter: dewitt says she heart back right away from the airbnb host. >>ky not say with records how grateful i am for these acts of solidarity with us. some people ask questions about how we operate under these circumstances. we did not stop our attempts to run the apartment. we lowered the rates and raised the cleaning fees to reflect the growing risk for our cleaning lady as she has to reach the apartments located in the center of the city from her home on the outskirts. it gives me goose butches aeees

goose bumps. >> it's up to the business community to step up and play a part. >> reporter: the company housing refugees in partnership with nonprofit organizations. >> anybody who has a home in the surrounding countries, we're doing everything we can to use our infrastructure to help. but we need more hosts. >> reporter: airbnb recommends examining listings carefully and reading reviews to ensure the host is legitimate. dewitt's host says his cleaning lady stayed behind in kyiv while he has fled with his family. >> i hope i can go and visit him some day and to stay in the apartment i'm renting currently. i think it would be a great full-circle situation. >> reporter: and here at home, the arts community making statements, big and small. ♪ ♪ the metropolitan opera in new york city opening last week, with the ukrainian national anthem. ♪ ♪

and going a step further, the opera house announcing it would no longer engage with those who have expressed support for putin. peter gelb is the general manager. what made you decide to draw this line in the sand? >> it was a hard decision, because we lost one of the greatest singers of all-time. but it was a clear decision, and one that i didn't really have to hesitate to make. >> reporter: the opera house announcing the star russian soprano would be withdrawing from her performances after refusing to denoun her alleged support for the russian president. she was quoted as saying forcing artists todenounce their homeland is not right. how would you respond? >> i agree with her. we're not engaging in a political witch hunt or interrogate artists about their personal beliefs.

but in these circumstances, putin's actions president trump a >> you're not forcing artists to denounce their homeland? >> absolutely not. i love russia. there's a great affinity between the american people and the russian people. the problem is putin. >> i watched anna perform, presumably you have a close relationship. what was that conversation like to break that news to her? >> it was very painful for her and painful for me, too. >> reporter: while he acknowledges the risks some russian artists might face speaking out, for gelb, the line is clear. and he is not alone. we're seeing venues like carnegie hall and the royal opera house in london cancel such performances. tell me about your feelings on the collective power of art, on the diplomatic stage at this juncture. >> i think art should, in normal times, be separate from

politics. ♪ ♪ but i think in extraordinary times like these, art can be a political tool for good. ♪ ♪ up next, curtis reeves speaking out for the first time in his acquittal in the killing of a man at a florida movie theater. king c. gillette is a complete lineup of tools and facial hair care products. this is the style master. designed to style your stubble in one stroke, a pivoting metal head that defines every edge, and three comb lengths for added versatility. one tool that helps you choose, change, and master your style. king c. gillette (vo) purina one has the inside story onit starts inside the gut... with purina one with new microbiome balance. natural prebiotic nutrition promoting gut health and immune support. purina one with new microbiome balance. ♪ pepto bismol coats and soothes your stomach for fast relief

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and now most admired alum! get up there. this is so embarrassing. there's no way it's me.

you know her.... you love her.... ruh roh. what are you doing here? it's anna gomez! who? our first gigillionaire! with at&t fiber, anna's got the fastest internet with hyper-gig speeds. i didn't know you went to this school. we have a lot in common. live like a gigillionaire with at&t fiber. now with speeds up to 5-gigs. limited availability. curtis reeves is now ready to talk. the retired police captain who killed a fellow moviegoer, the

so-called popcorn shooting, telling his version of events and how he feared for his life. here's abc's reporter. >> reporter: if you could go back to that day in 2014, do you wish you could have done anything differently? >> went to another show. >> reporter: it's been eight years since curtis reeves had a fatal shooting in a movie theater. >> reporter: reeves was that older man. a retired police captain and s.w.a.t. commander. he shot and killed 43-year-old chad oulson during a matinee in the cobb threeuater. >> do you wish you had left your gun at home? >> if i had, there's a good chance i wouldn't be here today. >> reporter: eight years later after multiple appeals and delays, he was tried for second egree murder and aggravated ond assault and acquitted on both

counts. >> it lifted a load off of each one of our heards, and it was certain ly impactful for us. >> reporter: he was acquitted on the ground of self-defense. the controversial verdict igniting a debate over self-defense and use of deadly force in the state of florida. now, the 79-year-old is speaking out about why he pulled the trgger. there will be people watching this at home saying you shot chad oulson because he threw popcorn in your face. your response to that? >> well, i think that the experts have proved that if you look at the timing here, it was pretty much physically impossible for me to draw a weapon and to fire the weapon between the time i got hit in the face with the popcorn on the video and when the shooting happened. if i remember correctly, it was less than a second. that decision was made when he reached for me, not when he grabbed the popcorn. >> reporter: with all your

experience in law enforcement, do you feel that was your -- the only decision you could have made at that point? >> no question whatsoever. i've never been faced with someone that far out of control or that much rage at one particular time. and with the explosive behavior, both verbally and physically, there was absolutely no alternative to that. >> reporter: curtis and his attorneys emphasizing an attack on someone over age 65 is considered a felony in florida. chad oulson, he should have known as a 43-year-old man attacking a 71-year-old man that he could cause serious bodily harm or death. i think the message out twl hero the community we shouldn't be attacking, certainly the elderly, because that attack may result in that person dying. >> reporter: curtis reeves was acquitted on the grounds that chad oulson was presented himself as some sort of dangerous, deadly force that could have rizen to the level of serious physical injury, and that granted curtis reeves the ability to use deadly force and

shooting him one time in the chest. >> reporter: the altercation started when reeves asked oulson to get off his phone. oulson's widow says she was using the phone to check on their toddler. >> i simply asked a gentleman to turn his phone down. i was not rude or anything. it was simply a request. and from that, it just kind of escalated. >> reporter: after getting up to complain to a manager, reeves turned to his seat. but the argument continued. >> at that point, i was looking at the previews. then suddenly out of the corner of my eye, he's on his feet and i got hit in the face. >> reporter: prosecutors contend he was hit in the face with a bag of popcorn as we see in this surveillance video. oulson stood up and threw the popcorn. he said oulson also threw a phone at him, something witnesses disputed. he says he wasn't aware of the popcorn being thrown until after the shooting. you got hit in the face this

>> it was something that flashed in front of my face, and at the same time my vision went blurry. so i didn't understand until later on. then i understood my glasses had been partially knocked off. >> reporter: is that the point you pulled your gun? >> i don't know exactly what point it was. i think once i realized that he was not going to stop. for 48 years i've carried a firearm, either on duty as law enforcement or retired, with all the proper credentials. i had no way to get away. at that point is when i went for the weapon. >> reporter: reeves shot oulson with his .380 caliber handgun and hit him in the chest. the bullet also his hit wife. nicole's recollection of that day is still crystal clear. >> curtis reeves should have deescalated the situation, but all he did was continued to make things worse even after leaving the theater and coming back when

it was basically done and decided to shoot someone over popcorn. >> reporter: yesterday, oulson's wife telling abc news, for eight long years i had to wait and try and fight for justice. even though the jury got it wrong, i will not just accept this result lying down. chad may be gone but he will never be forgotten and i will use my voice to try to make sure no one else has to experience what myself and my family had to go through. reeves has been under house arrest for most of the past eight years. in 2017, a judge ruled reeves could not claim defense under florida's controversial stand your ground law, but his attorneys were able to claim self-defense at trial. >> florida has a strong and rich culture of self-defense, and that's what is really permeated through the case here. >> reporter: reeves wife, vivian, urged her husband to move seats earlier in the altercation, but he refused. >> people testified that you were trying to deescalate the

situation in the theater that day, suggesting you should move seats. looking backn it, do you wish you had moved to another seat? >> yes, i do. >> why not just move away? >> i think that it escalated to the point too rapidly to make that decision. >> you could have moved before going speaking to the manager, after speaking to the manager, at any one of those points you could have switched seats. >> okay. at that point, he was not a threat. i saw no need to move. he didn't become a threat until he attacked. before that, he was just a guy. >> he took the appropriate steps in telling the management. when he sat back down, at that point, it was a point of attack. >> and now it's eight long years. your husband has been acquitted. any kind of message you might have for the oulson family here? >> umm, i'm very sorry for what

happened. i have prayed for the oulson family, and she's a young woman, and i sincerely hope that she finds someone else to share her life and to be a good father to her child. i hope she gets on with her life and is happy. >> i wished that none of this would have happened at all. but i don't feel like i'm an instigator. i just went to a theater with my wife to enjoy a movie and that's all i intended. >> have you had any contact at all with chad oulson's family? >> no, i have not. >> do you have any message for them? >> i feel the same sadness for them that i feel for my family. it shouldn't have happened. it didn't need to happen. it was something that was -- i had no control over. he's the only one that could have kept it from happening. i'm sure on both sides of the family, none of us wish it happened like it did. >> our thankses to victor. up next, on this international women's day, female fighters, standing strong.

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finally tonight, in honor of

international women's day, females fighting for their country. part of the war effort. mobilizing to defend ukraine against russian attacks. these women near kyiv making molotov cocktails. this new bride, joining her husband in the territorial defense force. they were married just weeks ago. signs of strength and solidarity. a sisterhood steeped in courage. that's "nightline." see you back here tomorrow same time. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america. in new york city, ♪ ♪ there's always something new to discover. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪