December 30, 2025 - For those growing a bit dissatisfied with the seeming lack of progress in efforts to end the war in Ukraine with Russia, here’s an idea to consider.

President Donald Trump has continued to zero in on Russian energy in attempts to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table. The administration has targeted Russian oil and gas giants with new sanctions and placed tariffs on U.S. trading partners buying Russian oil. It’s a reasonable strategy.

But Syd Peng, the chairman of mining engineering emeritus at West Virginia University, recently shared a somewhat different yet complementary approach: He believes President Trump needs to target Russian coal more than oil and gas.

“So far, sanctions against Russian energy sales have not done enough to stop Putin from continuing the brutal war, but a targeted campaign to eliminate the market for Russia’s huge coal exports could make a difference,” Mr. Peng wrote. “Russia’s coal industry is already under intense pressure since it lost European buyers, but it has been able to export coal to countries elsewhere in the world, mainly Asia.”

The reality is that Russian coal exports are contributing $31 billion a year to that nation’s war budget, primarily from sales to four countries that are either allies or trading partners of the United States — India, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey. All are looking to secure favorable trade deals with the U.S. It’s also worth noting that Russian coal exports are now more valuable than Russian pipeline oil and natural gas exports.

But China is also a large buyer of Russian coal.

There’s no question that convincing China to reduce its import of Russian coal is a tall order, but the Trump administration holds the cards. Lower U.S. tariffs could be negotiated for swapping Russian coal imports with greater imports of U.S. coal. The U.S. coal industry, already a major exporter to those countries, has the capacity to displace Russian exports.

“The logic for zeroing in on coal sales is simple: Not only is it a significant source of foreign currency for the Kremlin, but Russia’s coal industry is on an economic precipice,” Mr. Peng wrote. “Cracks are starting to show on Russia’s wartime economy, as sanctions, rising costs and weak energy prices are having deep economic repercussions. Russia’s coal industry employs more than 140,000 people and remains critical in some regions, both as a source of jobs and funding for local budgets.”