In recent weeks there have been a growing number of reports of Russian troops stealing agricultural equipment, grain and even building materials – in addition to widespread house looting. But the removal of valuable agricultural equipment from a John Deere dealership in Melitopolis speaks to an increasingly organized operation, one that even uses Russian military transport as part of the robbery. CNN has learned that the equipment was removed from an Agrotek dealership in Melitopolis, which has been under Russian occupation since early March. In total, its value is almost 5 million dollars. Combine harvesters alone are worth $ 300,000 each. CNN does not name a contact in Melitopoli who knows the details of the case for their own safety. The contact stated that the process started with the seizure of two combine harvesters, a tractor and a sowing machine. In the following weeks, everything else was removed: all 27 pieces of agricultural machinery. One of the flatbed trucks used and recorded by the camera had a white “Z” painted on it and appeared to be a military truck. The contact said that there were rival groups of Russian troops: some would come in the morning and others in the evening. Some of the machines were transported to a nearby village, but some of them embarked on a long land journey to Chechnya, 700 miles away. The complexity of the machines, which are equipped with GPS, meant that his journey could be tracked. It was last found in the village of Zakhan Yurt in Chechnya. The equipment transported to Chechnya, which included harvesters – can also be controlled remotely. “When the intruders drove the stolen harvesters into Chechnya, they realized they could not even turn them on because the harvesters were locked remotely,” the contact said. The equipment now appears to be withering on a farm near Grozny. But the contact said that “it seems that the hijackers have found advisers in Russia who are trying to circumvent the protection”. “Even if they sell combine harvesters for spare parts, they will make some money,” the contact said. Other sources in the Melitopolis area say the theft from Russian military units has spread to grain stored in silos, an area that produces hundreds of thousands of tonnes of crops a year. A source told CNN that “the occupiers are offering local farmers to share their profits from 50% to 50%. But farmers trying to work in areas occupied by Russian troops can not move their production. “Not a single elevator works. None of the ports work. You will not get this wheat from the occupied anywhere.” So the Russian forces are just taking the wheat, the source said. “They steal it, take it to the Crimea and that’s it.” Last week, the mayor of Melitopolis posted a video showing an escort of trucks leaving Melitopolis allegedly loaded with grain. “We have clear evidence that they unloaded grain from the Melitopolis city elevator. They robbed the elevator along with private farms,” the mayor told CNN.
