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Sophisticated software impedes Russian looters from using Ukrainian farm equipment, CNN report

Russian troops stole a large collection of agricultural machinery worth US$ 5 million from a local dealer and transported it 1,100 kilometers to Chechnya

Russian soldiers have reportedly looted some five million dollars worth of agricultural state-of-the-art equipment from Ukraine, but it is not clear whether they have been able to man it, given their sophisticated software system.

According to a CNN report from an unnamed source in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol, Russian troops stole a large collection of agricultural machinery from a local dealer and transported it 1,100 kilometers to Chechnya.

CNN said a total of 27 agricultural vehicles were taken, including several combine harvesters, which are worth US$300,000 each. The equipment was stolen from a John Deere dealer in Melitopol.

John Deere is the world's largest manufacturer of agricultural machinery, including tractors, combine harvesters, balers, planters/seeders, silage machines and fertilizer sprayers. One of the flatbed trailers used to transport the looted vehicles had a white “Z” painted on it and appeared to be a Russian military vehicle, the contact told CNN.

The letter “Z” has become a symbol of the war as it was displayed on Russian tanks and armored vehicles massed on the border with Ukraine in the lead-up to the invasion. “Z” also helped to distinguish the similarity of Russian and Ukrainian military equipment

Other reports of stolen Ukrainian farm equipment and crops by Russian soldiers during the conflict have emerged.

Over the past two months, Agrotek-Invest, a Ukrainian farm machine dealer, has posted several times on Facebook detailing the theft of equipment, including John Deere harvesters and machinery made by the Sweden's Vaderstad. But the Swedish company announced that the machinery had been remotely locked to stop them from working. As the machines were equipped with GPS and geo-fencing (a virtual perimeter), their journey could be tracked to the Chechen capital, Grozny, and a nearby village.

According to CNN, when the thieves tried to start up the stolen combine harvesters, they didn't work. The machinery is fitted with anti-theft devices, which had been remotely activated.

Apparently for now, the machinery has been rendered useless but could still be sold for spare parts. Some experts also believe the software on the machinery could still be hacked, allowing them to be used again.

The theft of farm machinery is common practice globally, causing huge personal and financial losses for farmers and the insurance sector.

Insurance firms recommend the use of GPS tracking technology, while many manufacturers now have software that disables vehicles if they are stolen.

Farm machinery is surprisingly high tech and manufacturers have for decades utilized GPS to help farmers to steer their vehicles around huge crop fields. John Deere also boasts fully autonomous machinery where the farmer is no longer required in the ield, except to refuel the vehicle every few hours.