In brief: Russian troops release six Ukrainian military officers

KIEV, Ukraine – Six Ukrainian military officers detained by Russian troops in Crimea have been released and were being evacuated Wednesday from the Black Sea peninsula, but five still remained in custody.

Russian forces over the last few weeks have stormed one Ukrainian military base after another in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia after residents voted in a contentious referendum March 16 to secede from Ukraine.

President Oleksandr Turchinov said he hopes to see the freed officers today in the capital, Kiev.

Five more serviceman including a colonel were still being detained, Defense Ministry spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – A Danish zoo that faced protests for killing a healthy giraffe to prevent inbreeding says it has put down four lions, including two cubs, to make room for a new male lion.

Citing the “pride’s natural structure and behavior,” the Copenhagen Zoo said Tuesday that two old lions had been euthanized as part of a generational shift. It said the cubs were also put down because they were not old enough to fend for themselves and “anyway would have been killed by the new male lion.”