[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Three alleged Kremlin spies caught breaking into an arms factory in Albania are accused of spraying chemicals into the faces of the soldiers who stopped them.
Two men with Russian passports and one Ukrainian national, most likely from one of the country's Moscow-ruled breakaway republics, tried to enter the weapons factory tonight, the NATO country's ministry of defence explosively claimed.
It added: 'The officers who were guarding the plant reacted immediately, but during their efforts to stop the three foreign nationals, two of our soldiers were injured.'
Factory director Lorenc Zani confirmed there was a 'physical clash', at which point the defending soldiers were sprayed with the unknown material, Albanian Daily News reported.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said the three individuals are 'suspected of espionage.'
Officers arrested the three men, with the Albanian soldiers now hospitalised with illnesses arising from the apparent chemical poisoning.
They are said to be in a stable condition.
The defense ministry said one of the arrested, identified only as a Russian national MZ, 24 years old, entered the plant's territory and was trying to take photos.
Two others, a Russian woman identified as ST, 33, and Ukrainian man FA, 25, were also arrested nearby.
Gramsh military base in central Albania is an unusual location for foreign 'tourists' to visit.
Albania's status as NATO member for more than a decade has raised eyebrows. It joined the western military alliance in 2009.
During communism, Gramsh was used to produce Russian AK-47 machine guns. According to the ministry's website, the plant today provides manufacturing services for the defense industry, without giving more details. 
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