Oryx (website)

Oryx, or Oryxspioenkop, is a Dutch open-source intelligence (OSINT) defence analysis website,[1] and warfare research group.[2] It is run by Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans.[3] Both have previously worked for Netherlands-based Bellingcat.[4][5] Oliemans also worked for Janes Information Services, a British open-source military intelligence company.[5]

This article is about the investigative research website. For other uses, see Oryx (disambiguation).
Oryx
Logo of Oryx
Type of site
Investigative journalism
Available in
FoundedNovember 2013
Country of originNetherlands
Founder(s)Stijn Mitzer, Joost Oliemans
URLoryxspioenkop.com

History

Oryx was started in 2013, and initially focused on Syria.[6] Mitzer and Oliemans have also written two books on the Korean People's Army.[6] According to Oryx, the term spionkop (Afrikaans for "spy hill") "refers to a place from where one can watch events unfold around the world".[7]

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.[8][9][10] It has been regularly cited in major media, including Reuters,[11] BBC News,[12] The Guardian,[13] The Economist,[14] Newsweek,[15] CNN,[9] and CBS News.[16] Forbes has called Oryx "the most reliable source in the conflict so far", calling its services "outstanding".[17][18][19] 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][17]

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."[20]

On 19 June 2023, Oryx announced that the blog would be ended 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".[21] 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 OSINT group WarSpotting.[22][23]

References
  1. 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. Taylor, Adam (20 August 2021). "The Taliban is flaunting captured U.S. weapons that may be worth billions". Washington Post. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  4. "Stijn Mitzer". Archived from the original on 2022-05-08.
  5. "Joost Oliemans". Archived from the original on 2022-05-08.
  6. Maddaluno, Amedeo (16 December 2020). "Observing the battlefields of the world with "Oryx Blog"". osservatorioglobalizzazione.it/. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  7. "@oryxspioenkop on Twitter". Twitter. 26 Oct 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  8. Wasielewski, Philip. "Appraising the War in Ukraine and Likely Outcomes". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  9. 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.
  10. "'Russia is failing in its war aims' in Ukraine: US". Al Jazeera. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  11. "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
  12. "Ukraine conflict: Why is Russia losing so many tanks?". BBC News. 11 April 2022.
  13. Sabbagh, Dan (6 April 2022). "As Ukraine war enters new phase, can western arms turn the tide?". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  14. "How Ukraine is winning the drone-jamming war". The Economist.
  15. 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.
  16. "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.
  17. Hambling, David (26 April 2022). "How Heavy Are Russian Losses, And What Does It Mean For Their Offensive?". Forbes. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  18. Axe, David (30 April 2022). "The 'Ghost Of Kyiv,' Who Was Never Real, Just Got Killed In The Press". Forbes. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  19. "Ukraine is Knocking Increasing Numbers of Russian Drones Out of the Sky — with Help from Russian Corruption". Forbes.
  20. "General Petraeus: The spring offensive will be 'much more successful' than many think". DW News. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  21. "Oryx on Twitter: "The End of a Journey"". Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  22. "Oryx on Twitter: "Note: The Russian and Ukrainian losses lists..."". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  23. "Jakub Janovsky on Twitter: "My plan beyond October..."". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
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