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Showing posts from May, 2022

Russians plunder $5M farm vehicles from Ukraine -- to find they've been remotely disabled

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Russian troops in the occupied city of Melitopol have stolen all the equipment from a farm equipment dealership -- and shipped it to Chechnya, according to a Ukrainian businessman in the area. But after a journey of more than 700 miles, the thieves were unable to use any of the equipment -- because it had been locked remotely. Over the past few weeks there's been a growing number of reports of Russian troops stealing farm equipment, grain and even building materials - beyond widespread looting of residences. But the removal of valuable agricultural equipment from a John Deere dealership in Melitopol speaks to an increasingly organized operation, one that even uses Russian military transport as part of the heist. CNN has learned that the equipment was removed from an Agrotek dealership in Melitopol, which has been occupied by Russian forces since early March. Altogether it's valued at nearly $5 million. The combine harvesters alone are worth $300,000 ea...

Some civilians were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant this weekend. Here's what we know

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday about 100 civilians had been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant, the last Ukrainian holdout in the besieged city of Mariupol, following weeks of heavy Russian bombardment. Here's what we know about the situation: Hundreds of people -- dozens of whom are injured -- are thought to still be trapped inside the   complex. They include civilians and Ukrainian forces who are running out of water, food and medicine after two months. After a rare period of quiet on Sunday that allowed for some evacuations, the complex came under fire again Sunday night, according to a Ukrainian soldier in Mariupol who spoke to Ukrainian television. It's unclear whether the renewed shelling will jeopardize the next stage of the evacuation from Azovstal, due on Monday. Nearly every building at the plant has been destroyed,  new satellite images  showed Saturday. The UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross are coordinating the saf...