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Radio News: Ukrainian loot being tracked back to Russia

Apr 20, 2022 11:33 pm

Common internet tracking technology using radio waves is proving in real-time that Russian soldiers are stealing phones, AirPods, and farm equipment from Ukrainians during their invasion of the European country. Forbes reports, for instance, that an advisor to the Belarusian democratic movement said, “Ukrainians are locating their devices on the territory of the Homiel region, Belarus, where part of the Russian army retreated.” For iPhones, the FindMy app connects with hundreds of millions of Apple devices to create a shadow network, enabling a lost or stolen phone to connect to other devices via Bluetooth, and then report its location back to its owner. Ukrainians who left their homes are now posting on social media accounts maps that show their iPhones or AirPods are now in Belarus or Russia. The New York Post reported that Vitaliy Semenets of Hostomel, about 17 miles northwest of Kyiv, had his AirPods stolen near the beginning of the war, and has watched online as they move around the region. “Thanks to technology, I know where my AirPods [are] now,” he wrote online.