In southern Ukraine, Russian troops stole 4.7 million euros worth of agricultural equipment. Bad luck, the tractors became unusable after being disabled remotely.
Looting was probably less complicated before the all-connected era. And it is not the Russians who will say the opposite. After the theft of nearly 5 million euros of agricultural equipment during the conflict in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s troops had the unpleasant surprise to find that the machines had simply been deactivated remotely.
It is CNN which reports this information, quoting a Ukrainian businessman from the region. According to him, the Russian troops occupying the city of Melitopol indulged in a few thefts of equipment in addition to all the other abuses committed. Thus, the entire stock of an American-brand John Deere farm equipment dealer was confiscated by enemy troops and then shipped to Chechnya to feed Russian mouths. But after a journey of more than 1100 kilometers, the new owners of the machines simply could not start them.
It must be said that some going for $300,000 each, the machines benefit from a bit of modern technology. Including a GPS chip, which made it possible to establish that these 27 tractors and combine harvesters were no longer in Melitopol, allowing the Americans and Ukrainians to deactivate them remotely. Because yes, these state-of-the-art tractors are also connected.
If the news is ready to smile, like everything that looks like a return of karma, the fact remains that this deactivation could only be temporary. CNN explains that the equipment now appears to be stored at a farm near Grozny, and that hackers could be sent to try to get them started. If they don’t succeed, the Russian troops will content themselves with deboning them to supply the spare parts market.