Russian troops stole $5M worth of farm vehicles from a John Deere dealership, which remotely locked the thieves out of the equipment

Russian troops occupying the Ukrainian city of Melitopol stole $5 million of farm vehicles from a John Deere dealership and shipped some of them more than 700 miles to Chechnya, only to find they had been rendered useless by a remote-locking system that prevented the thieves from turning, according to CNN.

Two compound harvesters, valued at $300,000 each, as well as 27 other tractors, seeders, and additional pieces of equipment were stolen from the dealership. The remote access technology of the equipment prevented them from being used.

When the invaders drove the stolen harvesters to Chechnya, they realized they couldn't turn them on because the harvesters were locked remotely, a source told CNN.

The source said that the equipment is currently sitting on a farm near Grozny.

The city of Melitopol has been under Russian control since March. There have been reports that invading troops stole hundreds of thousands of tons of grain from the region.