By Rich Nolan 

October 18, 2025 - Remarkably, Russia’s coal export revenues are larger than both those of pipeline gas and pipeline crude oil, totaling an estimated $31 billion per year. It’s a substantial stream of foreign currency that has been used to bolster Russian offensives in Ukraine and to pay for Iranian drones and North Korean troops and equipment used in attacking the nation.

The Russian economy and Vladimir Putin’s war machine remain propped up by energy exports. While Europe has dramatically cut its dependence on Russian energy since the start of the war, Russia has found new markets, largely in Asia, to soften the blow of biting Western sanctions.

But as President Trump pushes for an end to the war — and for American allies and trading partners to slash Russian energy consumption — it’s U.S. coal that could prove decisive. For all the focus on Russia’s oil and gas exports, Russian coal is a target ripe for a pressure campaign.

American allies buy Russian coal

Russia has had to reorient the market for its coal from west to east, but exports are growing, reaching a new high this past August. Astonishingly, not only China but several close U.S. allies drive the purchases — allies that could and should be using U.S. coal instead.

The five largest destinations for Russian coal are China, India, Turkey, South Korea and Taiwan, all markets with overlap for U.S. coal exports.

As President Trump has said again and again, with an eye towards ongoing purchases of Russian oil, some of our closest allies and trading partners are enabling this war. The same is troublingly true with coal. South Korea’s imports of Russian coal, for example, rose 36% from July to August, reaching their highest levels ever. Indian imports of Russian coal have nearly tripled from pre-war levels.

With the U.S. actively renegotiating trade deals and the provider of significant security assistance to several of these nations, there is ample opportunity to deal a significant blow to the Russian energy economy at a critical moment.

A Russian vulnerability

Russia’s coal industry is under pressure and already a vulnerability for the Kremlin. While Russian exports are up, state support is one of the few reasons Russian coal companies have been able to avoid bankruptcy as their traditional market in Europe evaporated in the months after the invasion. 

Social tension is high in Russia’s coal producing regions. The Moscow Times declared in July, “Russia’s Coal Industry Is Collapsing. Will It Drag the Economy Down With It?”

A severe blow to Russia’s coal export market would resonate, draining the Kremlin’s coffers and increasing internal pressure to bring the war to a close. The Trump administration has already levied secondary tariffs on India for its continued purchases of Russian oil and is pushing NATO allies to fully eliminate their ongoing reliance on Russian energy. 

Pulling the coal lever could prove a highly effective new pressure point and provide leverage with no effect on U.S. consumers, a consideration that shaped how the West treated Russian oil flows following the Russian invasion.

American leverage

The Trump administration has laid the groundwork for just this opportunity. Through the president’s energy dominance agenda, the administration has worked to catalyze coal leasing, increase the competitiveness of U.S. coal mining operations and ramp up U.S. export potential.

Close U.S. trading partners and allies should not be funding the Russian war machine with ongoing purchases of Russian energy. The world has the tools, but has lacked the will to cripple the Russian economy.

With trade negotiations happening in real time, the administration has ample leverage to slash the Russian coal export market while simultaneously expanding the market for U.S. energy.

Rich Nolan is president and CEO of the National Mining Association.

Rich Nolan