John Deere’s machines were locked remotely.
Russian troops stole the least 27 brand tractor John Deere from a dealership in Melitopol, Ukraine, CNN reports. But the theft of industrial materials and agricultural equipment in the city occupied by Russian troops since early March did not end well. After traveling approximately 800 kilometers in Russia, these high-end vehicles, whose combined value exceeded five million euros, stopped working: someone locked them remotely.
The goal of the Russian Army is to send all this agricultural machinery – there are tractors, harvesters and seeders – to Chechnya, located more than a thousand kilometers from Melitopol. Some of the stolen units have a market value of more than 300,000 dollars. A businessman related to the dealer of the company Agrotek revealed to CNN details about the theft of this agricultural machinery. For example, the theft was carried out on the move and hundreds of soldiers participated.
Troops used trailers to move stolen farm equipment, some they painted with white Z, a pro-Ukrainian symbol promoted by the Kremlin. What the Russian forces did not know was that they could not use them, thanks to the advanced technological systems of the manufacturer John Deere.
The machines are remotely locked.
Despite the failure, the Russians did not give up and looked for a way to take advantage of all this agricultural material. “Russian troops found technicians in Russia trying to circumvent software protection,” the businessman told CNN. So far, the 27 teams are unavailable standing on a farm near Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic, where they must stay until someone can unlock them.
Despite the failure, the Russians did not give up and looked for a way to take advantage of all this agricultural material.
This is not the only theft committed by Russian troops on Ukrainian territory. After the theft of agricultural materials in Melitopol, which are currently unused, the inhabitants decided to steal grain stored in traps. Grain is one of Ukraine’s largest exports – up to six million tons a month before Russia invaded the country – and there are regions that produce thousands of tons of crops each year.
Source: The Vanguard
Source: Clarin
