Oryx (website) explained

Oryx
Type:Investigative journalism
Founded:November 2013
Country Of Origin:Netherlands
Founder:Stijn Mitzer, Joost Oliemans
Url:oryxspioenkop.com

Oryx, or Oryxspioenkop, is a Dutch open-source intelligence defence analysis website,[1] [2] and warfare research group.[3] According to Oryx, the term spionkop (Afrikaans for "spy hill") "refers to a place from where one can watch events unfold around the world".[4]

Oryx was created by Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans, who have also written two books on the Korean People's Army.[5] [6] Both have previously worked for Netherlands-based Bellingcat.[7] [8] Oliemans also worked for Janes Information Services, a British open-source military intelligence company. After Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans retired from the Oryx Blog, a long-time contributor Jakub Janovsky took over as the site administrator.[9]

History

Oryx was started in 2013, and initially focused on Syria[6] and later on the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.[10]

The blog gained international prominence through its work during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, counting and keeping track of material losses based on visual evidence and open-source intelligence from social media.[11] [12] [13] It has been regularly cited in major media, including Reuters,[14] BBC News,[15] The Guardian,[16] The Economist,[17] Newsweek,[18] CNN, and CBS News.[19] Forbes has called Oryx "the most reliable source in the conflict so far", calling its services "outstanding".[20] [21] [22] Because it reports only visually confirmed losses, Forbes claimed that Oryx's tallies of equipment losses have formed absolute minimum baselines for loss estimates.[1] [20]

In June 2023, former General David Petraeus commended Oryx: "In this and age of open source media and intelligence, there is a website that actually tracks absolutely confirmed, verified destruction of, say, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. (...) This is confirmed by photograph[s], with metadata, so that you make sure you don't double-count, etc."[23]

On 19 June 2023, Oryx announced that the blog would end on 1 October 2023. In the statement posted on Twitter, Oryx explained that the blog had been created a decade earlier "out of boredom", and that the project – which had been conducted "in our free time" and without any pay – had turned into an "all-consuming project" that had not resulted in any jobs and which "just doesn't make me happy anymore".[24] In a follow-up statement, Oryx clarified that the list covering losses in Russia's invasion of Ukraine would continue to be updated until the end of the war by long-time contributor Jakub Janovsky and the open-source intelligence group WarSpotting.[25] [26]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Peck . Michael . Russia Is Exaggerating Ukraine's Military Losses . 4 May 2022 . . 5 April 2022.
  2. News: 16 July 2024 . Russia’s vast stocks of Soviet-era weaponry are running out . 2024-08-11 . The Economist . 0013-0613.
  3. News: Malyasov . Dylan . Russia loses dozens of unmanned aircraft in Ukraine . 4 May 2022 . Defence Blog . 14 April 2022.
  4. Web site: @oryxspioenkop on Twitter . Twitter . 26 October 2022 . 26 Oct 2022.
  5. News: Taylor . Adam . The Taliban is flaunting captured U.S. weapons that may be worth billions.. 4 May 2022 . Washington Post . 20 August 2021.
  6. Web site: Maddaluno . Amedeo . Observing the battlefields of the world with "Oryx Blog" . osservatorioglobalizzazione.it/ . 4 May 2022 . 16 December 2020.
  7. Web site: Stijn Mitzer . https://archive.today/20220508195116/https://www.helion.co.uk/people/stijn-mitzer.php . 2022-05-08.
  8. Web site: Joost Oliemans . https://archive.today/20220508194955/https://www.helion.co.uk/people/joost-oliemans.php . 2022-05-08.
  9. Web site: @oryxspioenkop on Twitter . Twitter . 7 November 2023 . 7 November 2023.
  10. Web site: The Fight For Nagorno-Karabakh: Documenting Losses On The Sides Of Armenia And Azerbaijan . Oryx . 12 August 2024.
  11. Web site: Wasielewski . Philip . Appraising the War in Ukraine and Likely Outcomes . . 4 May 2022.
  12. News: Lendon . Brad . Russia's tanks in Ukraine have a 'jack-in-the-box' design flaw. And the West has known about it since the Gulf war . 4 May 2022 . . 29 April 2022.
  13. News: 'Russia is failing in its war aims' in Ukraine: US . 4 May 2022 . . 25 April 2022.
  14. News: Fact Check-No evidence photo shows a Ukrainian soldier who 'blew up 52 Russian tanks' . 4 May 2022 . . 19 April 2022. Oryx, a closely watched military blog which tallies both sides' losses based on verifiable visual evidence.
  15. News: 11 April 2022 . Ukraine conflict: Why is Russia losing so many tanks? . BBC News .
  16. News: Sabbagh . Dan . As Ukraine war enters new phase, can western arms turn the tide? . 4 May 2022 . . 6 April 2022.
  17. News: How Ukraine is winning the drone-jamming war . The Economist .
  18. News: Carbonaro . Giulia . Russia Unable To Fight Another War After Catastrophic Military Losses . 4 May 2022 . . 27 April 2022.
    News: Carbonaro . Giulia . Russia's Colossal Tank Losses in Ukraine Are Due to This Fatal Design Flaw . 4 May 2022 . Newsweek . 28 April 2022. ; News: Cole . Brendan . Russian Tanks Already Rusting in Ukraine, Photo Shows . 4 May 2022 . Newsweek . 6 April 2022.
  19. News: Why Russia keeps losing so many armored vehicles in Ukraine: "It's finders keepers for these farmers" . 4 May 2022 . . 23 April 2022.
  20. News: Hambling . David . How Heavy Are Russian Losses, And What Does It Mean For Their Offensive? . 4 May 2022 . . 26 April 2022.
  21. News: Axe . David . The 'Ghost Of Kyiv,' Who Was Never Real, Just Got Killed In The Press . 4 May 2022 . . 30 April 2022.
  22. Web site: Ukraine is Knocking Increasing Numbers of Russian Drones Out of the Sky — with Help from Russian Corruption . .
  23. News: General Petraeus: The spring offensive will be 'much more successful' than many think . . 6 June 2023 . 7 June 2023 .
  24. Web site: Oryx on Twitter: "The End of a Journey" . 19 June 2023.
  25. Web site: Oryx on Twitter: "Note: The Russian and Ukrainian losses lists..." . twitter.com . Twitter . 19 June 2023.
  26. Web site: Jakub Janovsky on Twitter: "My plan beyond October..." . twitter.com . Twitter . 19 June 2023.

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