Fuel Crunch & Russia Dependence: Mongolia’s AI-92 gasoline reserves reportedly fell from 71.6 to 37k tons in three weeks, while diesel sits at about 91k tons (around 23 days), triggering 5–6 hour queues and even overnight stays at stations; with Mongolia importing ~95% of fuel from Russia, Reuters notes Moscow extended export restrictions to Jan 31, 2027, and Mongolia’s first refinery (1.5m tons/year) is planned with $1.7bn Indian credit, targeting operations no earlier than 2028. Cross-Border Payments: Golomt Bank says most yuan trade payments are shifting to China’s CIPS, with 96% of its yuan transactions migrating from SWIFT within six months, cutting settlement from 1–2 days to near real time and lowering costs for importers and small businesses. AI Infrastructure Race: DeepSeek is planning a massive 1GW AI data center buildout in Inner Mongolia (Ulanqab), aiming for partial capacity online by end-2027/early 2028; separate reporting says Moonshot AI may have trained a 2.8T model using Nvidia’s restricted chips via workarounds, while RedNote eyes a $2.2bn, 600MW data center project. COP17 & Desertification: Mongolia and UNESCAP are preparing a regional sand-and-dust storm initiative to be launched during UNCCD COP17 in August, with plans to expand monitoring and improve assessment and modeling. Mongolia–Japan Diplomacy: Foreign ministries held a consultative meeting in Kamakura, reaffirming the “Special Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity” and discussing the 10-year action program.