Russian troops in Melitopol plunder $5M farm vehicles from Ukraine — to find they have been remotely disabled
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But after a journey of greater than 700 miles, the thieves have been unable to use any of the gear -- as a result of it had been locked remotely.
Over the previous few weeks there's been a rising number of reviews of Russian troops stealing farm equipment, grain and even building supplies - beyond widespread looting of residences. However the elimination of beneficial agricultural equipment from a John Deere dealership in Melitopol speaks to an increasingly organized operation, one which even uses Russian navy transport as a part of the heist.CNN has discovered that the gear was removed from an Agrotek dealership in Melitopol, which has been occupied by Russian forces since early March. Altogether it's valued at nearly $5 million. The combine harvesters alone are worth $300,000 every.
CNN is just not naming a contact in Melitopol conversant in the small print of the case for their very own safety.
The contact mentioned the method began with the seizure of two mix harvesters, a tractor and a seeder. Over the next few weeks, every thing else was eliminated: in all 27 items of farm machinery. One of the flat-bed vehicles used, and caught on camera, had a white "Z" painted on it and seemed to be a military truck.
The contact mentioned there were rival teams of Russian troops: some would come in the morning and some within the evening.
Among the machinery was taken to a close-by village, however some of it launched into a long overland journey to Chechnya greater than 700 miles away. The sophistication of the equipment, that are outfitted with GPS, meant that its travel could possibly be tracked. It was last tracked to the village of Zakhan Yurt in Chechnya.
The gear ferried to Chechnya, which included mix harvesters -- may also be managed remotely. "When the invaders drove the stolen harvesters to Chechnya, they realized that they could not even turn them on, as a result of the harvesters have been locked remotely," the contact said.
The equipment now seems to be languishing at a farm near Grozny. However the contact mentioned that "evidently the hijackers have found consultants in Russia who are making an attempt to bypass the safety."
"Even if they sell harvesters for spare components, they are going to earn some money," the contact stated.
Other sources in the Melitopol area say theft by Russian navy units has extended to grain held in silos, in a area that produces a whole lot of thousands of tonnes of crops a 12 months.
One supply advised CNN that "the occupiers are providing local farmers to share their earnings 50% to 50%." But the farmers making an attempt to work in areas occupied by Russian troops are unable to move their produce.
"Not a single elevator works. None of the ports are working. You will not take this grain from the occupied territory anywhere. "
So Russian forces are simply taking the grain, the source mentioned. "They steal it, take it to Crimea and that is it."
Last week the mayor of Melitopol posted a video exhibiting a convoy of trucks leaving Melitopol allegedly loaded with grain.
"We now have clear evidence that they unloaded grain from the Melitopol metropolis elevator. They robbed the elevator along with non-public farms," the mayor advised CNN.