Remote lockouts reportedly stop Russian troops from using stolen Ukrainian farm equipment

Photo by Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Russian troops stole almost $5 million worth of farm equipment from a John Deere dealer in the occupied city of Melitopol, Ukraine, only to discover that the machines have been shut down remotely, making them inoperable, according to a report from CNN. Some of the equipment, which comes with a remote locking feature and a built-in gps, was tracked over 700 miles away in the Zakhan Yurt village of Chechnya.

A source close to the situation told CNN that Russian troops began taking machinery away from the dealer after they occupied Melitopol. After two combine harvesters worth $300,000 each, a tractor, and a seeder, troops hauled away all 27 pieces of equipment. Some of the equipment went to Chechnya, while others went to a nearby village.

The invaders realized that they could not turn on the harvesters because they were locked away.

CNN's source says that Russian troops may be trying to find a way around the block as they are in contact with Russians who are trying to get around the protection.

For better or for worse, farming equipment has become high-tech. John Deere has been at the center of a right-to-repair debate as its software bars farmers from fixing their equipment themselves. John Deere is free to shut down its machines whenever it pleases, but it never activated this capacity, even in China, where financing terms require it to.

This isn't the first time that loot has backfired on Russian troops. A Ukrainian man has been using Apple's Find My feature to locate a device that was stolen from Russian troops, according to a report from The Times. He has been able to see their movements on a map and even watched as they retreated from the attack on the capital city of Ukraine. A researcher in California was able to watch Russian troops invade Ukraine by using a combination of radar imagery and maps.