Trending on X (2 a.m.): Zoljargal’s essay, passive insulation, Ukraine peacekeeping drill, Baabar on “Buryat”

These are the 8 topics Mongolian users discussed most on X between 22:13 on October 17 and 02:13 on October 18 (Ulaanbaatar time), ranked by the likes, reposts and views of the leading posts. Activity on X was relatively light on Saturday night, but a text circulating under the name of veteran journalist G.Zoljargal, a call to fight smog with insulation, a planned rehearsal for a post-war peacekeeping mission in Ukraine and Baabar’s essay on the name “Buryat” drew the most discussion. Topics from earlier roundups are included only where there was a new development. Posts that accused named individuals and could not be verified were left out. There were 8 real, verified topics in this window, so we did not pad the list to 10. Figures are as of 02:30.

1. Media contracts: G.Zoljargal’s “What happened to my journalism?” circulates (new development)

The debate over contracts between state bodies and media outlets turned overnight to reflections from the profession’s older generation. @Baagij13310361 shared a text titled “What happened to my journalism?”, attributed to journalist G.Zoljargal, an Honoured Cultural Worker of Mongolia, and it drew the most likes and reposts in this window. The text recalls the legacy of figures such as L.Tudev, B.Tsedendamba, Kh.Tsevlee and Ts.Baldorj, laments that a profession with a century-long history is losing its reputation, and says “this field now needs a cleanup.” We could not independently confirm where the text was first published.

Other users questioned whether outlets that sign closed contracts can still report in a balanced way. As egov.mn has reported, state bodies signed media contracts worth a total of MNT 24.2 billion in 2025.

Related:

https://www.egov.mn/en/article/mongolian-state-bodies-signed-mnt-242-billion-in-media-contracts-in-2025

2. Air pollution: “Solve smog with insulation, not burning” (new)

As the heating season gets under way and smog returns to the agenda, @nganbaa recalled standing outside the Central Post Office five years ago to promote passive houses. The user said they had tried to explain that smog should be solved “by insulating, not by burning,” but that more and more coal is now being bought and handed out, and shared that they now live in a passive house they built. This is the user’s personal view.

According to the Ulaanbaatar Governor’s Office, 23,107 tonnes of briquette fuel were sold at 441 points in the capital between September 15 and October 1, and 52,749 tonnes of semi-coked and improved briquette fuel were in stock as of October 1. In October, sales of briquettes made from washed coal began for ger-district households.

3. 1,500 European troops to rehearse a Ukraine peacekeeping mission in Poland (new)

According to The Times, at least 1,500 British, French and German service personnel will hold exercises in Poland in November together with Polish forces, rehearsing the deployment of a multinational force to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire agreement with Russia. The drills, described as the first of their kind, will test moving units and supplying them with food, fuel and other logistics. The UK defence secretary has confirmed the preparations. The exercise is preparation for a possible post-war scenario, not an immediate deployment to Ukraine.

Among Mongolian users, @tuul1234 translated and shared the report, which drew wide attention.

4. Baabar’s essay on the name “Buryat” (new)

Writer and political commentator Baabar published an essay titled “The name Buryat” on baabar.mn on October 17, and it drew attention on X. The author argues that “Buryat” is less a single ethnic group than a political-geographic, geopolitical product. He writes that as Tsarist Russia expanded eastward, it brought Mongol clans around Lake Baikal, including the Khori, Tumed, Barga, Tabnan, Songool and Bulgad, under its rule, and that the Russian word “brat” used for the Mongols who submitted is said to have evolved into the name “Buryat.” This is the author’s historical and political interpretation.

5. Congress pushes back on Trump’s Russia sanctions waiver (new development)

The previous roundup covered U.S. President Donald Trump’s suspension of sanctions and tariffs on Russia. Overnight, attention shifted to the reaction in Congress. In an executive order signed on October 16, Trump waived the key Russia provisions of a sanctions law that the Senate passed 86–11, two days before they were due to take effect on October 18. The law allowed tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods and up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis called the decision “beyond irresponsible” and asked what part of enforcing a law passed 86–11 the administration did not understand, NBC News and ABC News reported. Politico reported that Representative Gregory Meeks introduced a bill to block the Russian diesel deal agreed between Trump and Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Trump was “rewarding Putin.”

Related (in Mongolian):

https://www.egov.mn/mn/article/donald-tramp-orosyn-esreg-horig-tarifyn-heregzhiltiig-tudgelzuulev

6. Conscription and discharge: families see soldiers off and welcome them home (new development)

The second 2026 conscription round began nationwide on October 7 and continues in Ulaanbaatar from October 16 to 18 at recruitment offices in all nine districts. According to the capital’s military staff office, a joint discharge ceremony was held on Sukhbaatar Square on October 15. Earlier roundups featured complaints about how conscription was organised; this time, families’ memories of seeing soldiers off and welcoming them home dominated.

@THEJAALQ shared a video of Davaanyam, a herder from Ulaangom soum in Uvs province, waiting with a saddled horse to welcome his son home from the army, while @mathematicianBZ joked that nobody saw them off when they were conscripted, unlike today’s recruits, who arrive with crowds of friends.

7. Khovd Eco Cement: a private plant eyeing the Eurasian market (new)

Prime Minister N.Uchral visited the Khovd Eco Cement plant during a working trip to Khovd province on October 17, mic.mn reported. Commissioned in 2022, the plant employs more than 350 people and produces 400,000 tonnes of cement a year, supplying the five western provinces as well as Bayankhongor, Uvurkhangai and Ulaanbaatar. It began exporting cement to Russia this year, presented plans to export 100,000 tonnes a year, and asked for government support to enter the Eurasian market. It has built an 8 MW solar power plant and aims to cover 50–60% of its electricity needs with renewable energy.

On X, users highlighted how a private plant had grown to the point of exporting and generating its own power, and noted that the western region used to pay twice the Ulaanbaatar price for cement.

Related (in Mongolian):

https://www.egov.mn/mn/article/nuchral-hovd-eko-cement-uildveriin-eksportyn-tolovlogootei-tanilclaa

8. Sumo: G.Gegeen wins a world amateur sumo title (new)

Mongolian athlete G.Gegeen won the junior category at the World Amateur Sumo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, taking the gold medal, ubn.mn reported. The athlete is a student of Ts.Shiirev, an Honoured Coach of Mongolia. The October 17–18 championships have drawn athletes from about 30 countries; the first day featured individual and team bouts for boys and girls under 18, and the adult competition continues on October 18.

Methodology: We ranked posts from about 200 major news and influential accounts found through X search, plus more than 50 keyword searches, by an engagement score (likes + 2× reposts + views/100), and checked the facts against news sites. Posts that could not be verified or that carried a risk of defamation were left out. Views expressed by individuals on X do not represent the position of egov.mn.