Ukrainian man tracks Russian troops using his stolen AirPods

A Ukrainian man has been able to track the whereabouts of Russian troops, all thanks to his pair of wireless earphones that were stolen from him by a soldier.

Vitaliy Semenets has shared how his Airpods were taken from his home in Hostomel near Kyiv last month when Putin's forces attempted to capture the capital city when at the beginning of the invasion.

Apple products have a "Find My" location tracking feature which helped Semenets to see where his earphones were heading. He was able to do this due to either the Bluetooth or internet connection remaining on.

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After Russian soldiers retreated from Kyiv earlier this month, Semenets was able to follow their journey as the map showed them crossing the Belarus border and ending up near the city of Gomel.

A more recent update has shown that the AirPods had crossed the Russian border to reach the city of Belgorod, where it is thought that Putin is convening his troops for an assault on Donbas, in the east of Ukraine, The Timesreported.

In the Instagram post, Semenets showed the map which pinpoints the location of his earphones, he wrote: "Thanks to technology, I know where my AirPods is now. It was looted by Russians orcs from my home in Gostome."

"Orcs" is a term that refers to the fictional monster in Lord of Rings, which Ukrainian have been using to describe the Russians.

Semenets is not the first to track the location of Russian troops with his stolen device, as many Ukrainians have been using the "Find My" feature in a similar way.

"Ukrainians are locating their devices on the territory of the Homiel region, Belarus, where part of the Russian army retreated," tweeted Franak Viačorka, senior advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, earlier this month.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Russia has launched a new assault in the east.

In a recent video address, he said: "The Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time. A significant part of the entire Russian army is now concentrated on this offensive."

"No matter how many Russian troops are driven there, we will fight. We will defend ourselves. We will do it every day," he added.

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