After the theft of agricultural equipment: Russian soldiers fail because of electronic locks
Created: 05/02/2022 17:07
By: Linus Prien
Combine harvester in Ukraine.
© Dmytro Smolyenko via www.imago-images.de
Russian troops have stolen agricultural machinery in Ukraine.
However, the machines were protected by electronic locks.
Melitopol - The Ukraine conflict is primarily about violent clashes between Ukrainian troops and troops of Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.
This map shows where the Ukraine war is raging.
However, Russian troops have repeatedly been accused of looting Ukrainian homes and seizing Ukrainian property.
Apparently agricultural equipment is now also affected.
Agricultural machinery is said to have been stolen by Russian soldiers during a coordinated action in Ukraine.
This was reported by the American news channel CNN.
The devices were stolen from a seller of agricultural machinery.
Almost $5 million worth of equipment was stolen in the theft.
Previously, many videos had been circulating online showing the opposite picture: Ukrainian farmers repeatedly towed away Russian tanks that had broken down on roads in Ukraine during the escalating Ukraine conflict.
Ukraine war: Putin's soldiers are said to have stolen agricultural machinery
According to the American news channel CNN, there have been increasing reports in recent weeks that Russian troops have stolen agricultural machinery, crops and building materials in Ukraine.
Media reports had previously circulated that the Russian army was looting Ukrainian villages and stealing humanitarian aid packages because they themselves had little food.
According to
Der Spiegel
, however, the farm machinery case appears to have been carried out in an organized manner.
As CNN reported, citing a source in Melitopol, two combine harvesters, a tractor and a seed drill were initially stolen.
All 27 machines owned by the seller were then stolen.
A "Z" was allegedly written on a device used for the theft.
This could be proven with the help of pictures.
The machines were then taken to Chechnya.
However, the stolen devices, which could be tracked via GPS, were electronically locked.
Apparently the thieves failed to penetrate the lockdown.
Ukraine war: Russia steals crops on a large scale - part of the strategy of Putin's attack?
Large-scale crop theft could pose a serious problem for Ukraine.
As
Der Spiegel
reported, according to Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Wyssozkyj, hundreds of thousands of tons of grain have already been stolen from the Zaporizhia, Cherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions and taken to Russia.
A total of 1.5 million tons of grain are said to be stored in these areas.
Military expert and professor at the Bundeswehr University in Munich, Carlo Masala, called the theft of Ukrainian agricultural equipment "part of the strategy".
According to the expert, the intention was to take away “their livelihood” from the Ukrainians, as he explained via Twitter.
(LP)
