Russians Detained In Albania Claim Being Photographers Of Abandoned Facilities

The Russian citizens detained in Albania for allegedly breaching a weapons factory in Gramsh told the police that they are photographers and bloggers who document abandoned military facilities, the Albanian Daily News portal reported on Sunday.

According to the news portal, the people in question are 33-year-old Svetlana Timofeyeva and 23-year-old Mikhail Zorin, who showed the police their blog, which apparently contained photos and videos of former Soviet military bases.

There was another young man with a Ukrainian passport among those detained, but thee broadcaster provided no other details on his identity.

The detained allegedly approached the facility on Saturday night but were detected by the military and started a fight with them.

Two Albanian officers were wounded after one of the intruders used some kind of a spray, the news portal reported.

The Russian embassy in Tirana told Sputnik that the country's authorities have not notified the diplomatic mission on the incident and it learned about the incident only from local media.

The health of injured military personnel has improved, which is suggested from a photo the Albanian defense minister, Niko Peleshi, tweeted from the hospital with the two smiling officers. Peleshi also thanked the officers for their willingness to sacrifice themselves in order to protect a strategic facility.

The Prosecutor's Office of the Elbasan judicial district in Albania has launched an investigation into the incident.