Invaders seized agricultural equipment worth $5 million in Melitopol, the owner tracked it on GPS in Chechnya and blocked it remotely

By: Anry Sergeev | 02.05.2022, 16:33

About another fact of looting of the "second army of the world" told CNN, referring to an unnamed (for his safety) source of information located in the temporarily occupied Melitopol and familiar with the details of history. The occupiers seized a total of 27 units of the company's agricultural machinery John Deere, which was taken out of the territory of the dealer center "Agrotek ". Its cost is estimated at more than $5 million (one John Deere combine can cost $300,000). Unfortunately for the marauders, all the technology was state-of-the-art and remotely locked, just like we lock a stolen smartphone or laptop.

According to the source, it all started with the seizure of two combine harvesters, a tractor and a seed drill. Over the next few weeks, all the rest of the equipment in the amount of 27 units was removed from the Agrotek territory. One of the used military trucks had a white "Z" painted on it (video from security cameras is available from a dealership representative). 


A photo: center "Agrotek" in Melitopol (Google Maps )

Part of the equipment was delivered to a nearby village, and part went to Chechnya, having traveled more than 1,000 kilometers. The last determined location of the stolen equipment was the village Zakhan Yurt in Chechnya. “When the occupiers brought the stolen harvesters to Chechnya, they realized that they couldn’t even turn them on because the combines were blocked remotely,” the source told CNN reporters.

“The equipment now seems to be languishing on a farm near Grozny. It looks like the hijackers have found consultants in Russia who are trying to bypass the protection. Even if they sell harvesters for spare parts, they will earn some money.”


Illustration: route from Melitopol to Zakhan-Yurt (Google Maps )

Other CNN sources in the Melitopol region say theft by Russian military units has extended to grain stored in elevators in a region that produces hundreds of thousands of tons of grain a year. One source told CNN that Russian troops are simply taking the grain: "They steal it, take it to Crimea, that's all." Last week the mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov published a video in which a convoy of trucks with grain leaves Melitopol. “We have clear evidence that they unloaded grain from the Melitopol city elevator. They robbed the grain elevator along with private farms,” the mayor told CNN.

Illustration: smartphone app screenshots JDLink  and Operations Center Mobile  John Deere companies, allowing you to track the location of equipment and generate statistics reports on its use

Source: CNN

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