Source registry
Every citation on Vigil resolves to an entry here by a stable id; the build fails on any unregistered reference. A source's typeclassifies how a claim is grounded — not how true it is. How strongly the evidence supports a claim is the confidence grade, shown on each record. Notes state each source's role and known limitations.
- Barrick Mining corporate statements and filingsCompany filing
Company positions on the Loulo–Gounkoto dispute and settlement; one party's account.
- bp Azerbaijan pipeline and project disclosuresCompany filing
Operator data for the BTC pipeline and South Caucasus gas projects; company disclosures, read as such.
- Al Jazeera EnglishEstablished media
Strong Sahel coverage; state-funded (Qatar) — treated as established media.
- Associated PressEstablished media
- BBC NewsEstablished media
- Civil.geEstablished media
Georgian English-language outlet with strong institutional coverage.
- Established international media reportingEstablished media
- EurasianetEstablished media
Independent outlet focused on the Caucasus and Central Asia.
- France 24 / RFIEstablished media
French public international broadcasters with long-standing Sahel desks; French state-funded — coverage of France's own role read with that in mind.
- Kyiv PostEstablished media
Ukrainian English-language outlet; republishes ISW assessments daily.
- ReutersEstablished media
- RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)Established media
Long-standing Caucasus and Russia services; US-government-funded — treated as established media with that provenance stated.
- Syria DirectEstablished media
Syria-focused outlet with reporting networks inside the country; strongest on local governance, returns and the coastal and southern files.
- The Kyiv IndependentEstablished media
Ukrainian English-language outlet; strong access, Ukrainian perspective.
- The Moscow TimesEstablished media
Independent Russia-focused outlet operating in exile.
- Established historical recordHistorical record
Events documented consistently across mainstream histories and contemporaneous reporting; not individually cited.
- EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM)International organisation
The EU's unarmed civilian monitoring mission at the Abkhazia and South Ossetia boundary lines; mission access to the breakaway regions is denied, which its reporting itself states.
- IMF World Economic OutlookInternational organisation
Macroeconomic data and projections from an international organisation; forecasts are revised as conditions change.
- International Committee of the Red CrossInternational organisation
Missing-persons and detention figures for the Karabakh and Georgia conflicts; case-based totals that revise as cases close.
- OHCHR Ukraine civilian casualty monitoringInternational organisation
Individually verified civilian casualty counts from the UN human rights monitoring mission — a deliberate undercount by construction; OHCHR itself states actual totals are considerably higher.
- OSCE texts and mission recordsInternational organisation
Includes the Minsk Group record, ceasefire frameworks and historical monitoring reports; the organisation's own mandate history is part of the story it documents.
- UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on SyriaInternational organisation
Mandated investigative body on violations in Syria since 2011, including the March 2025 coastal violence findings. Findings are investigative conclusions, not court verdicts.
- UN OCHA humanitarian reporting (Mali / Sahel)International organisation
Needs and response figures are agency estimates with revision cycles; access constraints mean under-reporting in the least reachable areas.
- UN OCHA humanitarian reporting (Ukraine)International organisation
Needs and response figures are agency estimates with revision cycles; agencies have no access to occupied territory, so figures there are floors, not counts.
- UN OCHA Syria humanitarian reportingInternational organisation
- UN Security Council and Panel of Experts reportingInternational organisation
Includes historical MINUSMA reporting and sanctions panel findings; dated, mandate-bound, and slower than events.
- UNHCR data and reporting (South Caucasus)International organisation
Displacement and refugee figures for the Karabakh and Georgia displacements; registration-based and revised over time.
- UNHCR operational data (Mali situation)International organisation
Registration-based; movement outside registration systems is undercounted.
- UNHCR Syria situation data and operational updatesInternational organisation
Refugee, returnee and IDP figures for the Syria situation. Registration- and estimate-based; return figures distinguish refugee returns from internal displacement returns.
- UNHCR Ukraine situation dataInternational organisation
Refugee and displacement figures from a UN agency; registration-based, so movement outside registration systems is undercounted.
- World Bank country data (Mali)International organisation
- World Bank Syria country data and damage assessmentsInternational organisation
Country data and the damage-and-needs assessments behind the reconstruction cost estimates. Needs figures are assessment estimates, not funded programmes.
- World Food Programme assessmentsInternational organisation
- Public market and insurance dataMarket data
- Memorial Human Rights Centre documentationNGO / civil society
Primary documentation of the Chechen wars and North Caucasus abuses; liquidated by Russian court order in 2021–22 and continuing in exile — archive material predates the liquidation.
- The HALO Trust mine-action reportingNGO / civil society
Landmine and UXO clearance data for the Karabakh conflict zone and wider region; operational totals from the implementing organisation itself.
- EITI Mali extractive-sector disclosuresOfficial government data
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative disclosures; reporting lags the fiscal year and depends on government and company submissions.
- US / EU / UK sanctions designationsOfficial government data
- Armed-group statements (JNIM, FLA, IS-Sahel and others)Official statement
Claims published by non-state armed groups through their own channels. Treated strictly as positions — never as confirmation of outcomes, losses or control. Cited only where a claim itself is the fact being reported.
- IAEA Ukraine nuclear safety updatesOfficial statement
- NATO official texts and summit declarationsOfficial statement
Alliance positions and formal commitments; treated as positions, not outcomes.
- Official government statementsOfficial statement
Statements by the governments concerned; treated as positions, not facts.
- Russian Ministry of Defence statementsOfficial statement
Russian official claims; treated as positions requiring corroboration, with a documented record of overstatement.
- SDF / AANES official statementsOfficial statement
Statements by the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria; treated as positions, not facts.
- Statements by de facto authorities (Abkhazia, South Ossetia, former Nagorno-Karabakh)Official statement
Positions published by unrecognised or partially recognised authorities. Treated strictly as positions — citation is never recognition, and never confirmation of facts on the ground.
- UK Ministry of Defence — Defence Intelligence updatesOfficial statement
Published intelligence assessments; a governmental analytic view, not neutral ground truth.
- Ukrainian military and General Staff statementsOfficial statement
Claims by Ukrainian commands (General Staff, service branches, named commanders); treated as positions requiring corroboration, especially strike-effect and loss claims.
- DeepState live mapOSINT / geolocation
Ukrainian OSINT frontline mapping; near-real-time but Ukrainian-sourced, used here only for coarse, dated territorial-control claims.
- LostArmour strike-footage cataloguingOSINT / geolocation
Russian-language OSINT catalogue of published strike footage (notably Lancet employment). Useful for documented-use volume; counts reflect published footage, not verified effects, and carry a pro-Russian selection bias.
- MilitaryLand.net Ukrainian force-structure trackingOSINT / geolocation
Community-maintained tracking of Ukrainian formations — lineage, subordination, insignia and reorganisations. Structure only; carries no positional currency and is treated accordingly.
- Oryx visually-confirmed equipment documentationOSINT / geolocation
- ACLED conflict data & analysisThink tank / research institute
Event-coded conflict data and expert commentary; counts reflect reported, coded incidents, not verified ground truth.
- Africa Center for Strategic StudiesThink tank / research institute
US Department of Defense academic institution; analysis, not US policy.
- Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center analysesThink tank / research institute
- IISS Military BalanceThink tank / research institute
Annual reference for force structure, order of battle and equipment holdings; the baseline for structural claims about services and branches.
- International Crisis GroupThink tank / research institute
- ISW campaign assessmentsThink tank / research institute
- Karam Shaar Advisory — Syria sanctions and economy analysisThink tank / research institute
Specialist tracking of Syria sanctions status, legislative changes and the political economy of the transition.
- Middle East Institute — Syria programmeThink tank / research institute
- RUSI component and capability analysesThink tank / research institute
Teardown and capability reports (e.g. recovered-drone component analyses). Findings represent the institute's analysis of examined samples, not fleet-wide certainty.
- SIPRI Military Expenditure DatabaseThink tank / research institute