Oryx
Logo of Oryx
Type of site
Investigative journalism
Available in
FoundedNovember 2013
Country of originNetherlands
Founder(s)Stijn Mitzer, Joost Oliemans
URLoryxspioenkop.com

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

Oryx was created by Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans, who have also written two books on the Korean People's Army.[4][5] Both have previously worked for Netherlands-based Bellingcat.[6][7] Oliemans also worked for Janes Information Services, a British open-source military intelligence company.[7] After Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans retired from the Oryx Blog, a long-time contributor Jakub Janovsky took over as the site administrator. [8]

History

Oryx was started in 2013, and initially focused on Syria.[5]

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.[9][10][11] It has been regularly cited in major media, including Reuters,[12] BBC News,[13] The Guardian,[14] The Economist,[15] Newsweek,[16] CNN,[10] and CBS News.[17] Forbes has called Oryx "the most reliable source in the conflict so far", calling its services "outstanding".[18][19][20] 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][18]

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."[21]

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".[22] 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.[23][24]

See also

References

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