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The Irish alumina refinery Aughinish Alumina is under political pressure from Dublin, Brussels, and Kyiv. A joint investigation by the Irish Times, OCCRP, the iStories project, and the Guardian links the company’s products to the supply chains of the Russian military-industrial complex. The plant belongs to Limerick Alumina Refining, which is owned by United Company Rusal, a part of oligarch Oleg Deripaska’s EN+ Group. As alumina is not on the EU sanctions list, the company continues to export, claiming that the raw material is exclusively for civilian use.
The journalists tracked the material’s journey using customs data, satellite images, and financial leaks. The raw materials are delivered by sea to the port of Novy Port near St. Petersburg and then transported by rail for a distance of almost 5,000 km to United Company Rusal’s Siberian plants. The main recipients are the plants in Krasnoyarsk and Sayanogorsk. In 2024, the Krasnoyarsk facility imported 480 thousand tons of Irish alumina, which covered two-thirds of its needs, and this plant is the only producer of ultra-high-purity aluminum for fighter jets and missiles in Russia.
After processing, the metal is bought by Moscow-based Aluminium Sales Company (ASK), which is the main supplier of aluminum to the Russian army. ASK’s 107 defense clients, forty of which are under EU sanctions, include the Votkinsk Machine-Building Plant (manufacturer of Iskander-M ballistic missiles), Uraltransmash (howitzers), and Uralvagonzavod (T-72 tanks). Other buyers include manufacturers of gyroscopes for X-101 cruise missiles and engines for Sukhoi aircraft. Metallurgy experts say that due to the mixing of raw materials, it is impossible to trace a specific batch in the final weapon, but the use of Irish material in the defense sector is highly likely.
Supplies of Irish alumina to Russia showed a rapid increase from 394 thousand tons in 2020 to more than 826 thousand tons in 2024. The share of the Russian Federation in the plant’s sales during this period increased from 23% to 68%, and the total value of Irish goods sold to Russia in 2024 reached €836 million.
At the same time, there were significant discrepancies in the data for the first quarter of 2026. CSO reports indicated that 83% of exports (200619 tons) went to Russia, while only 0.6% went to the EU. Business Minister Peter Burke called these figures erroneous, after which Aughinish Alumina’s management explained the situation by a technical error in the reporting. Representatives of the plant said that the real share of exports to Russia in the first quarter of 2026 was 51%, and for the whole of 2025 – 45%.
Official Dublin and the European Commission are currently refraining from imposing restrictions due to a combination of economic and environmental factors. The company provides 400 direct jobs, 500 contract jobs and about 1000 jobs in related companies, generating €150 million annually for the local economy. In addition, 50 million tons of toxic red sludge has been accumulated on the site, and closing the facility will shift the costs of remediation to the state, costing hundreds of millions of euros.
There is also a strong dependence on the European market itself, as the plant covers a significant portion of the EU’s alumina needs. Prime Minister Michel Martin said that sanctions would hurt Europe more than the Kremlin. Against this backdrop, the company’s representatives have met with Irish government officials 64 times since 2016, including 18 times after the start of the full-scale invasion.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Dublin and Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevost expressed deep concern over the revelations. A group of 39 MEPs from 12 countries sent an official demand to stop the trade to Kaja Kallas and Maroš Šefčovič, and four MEPs from the Irish Fine Gael party confirmed their concern about the use of the materials in the war.
Aughinish Alumina’s management categorically denies the allegations, citing its work within EU law and the civilian status of aluminum as a basic commodity. Managing Director Kieran Kelleger, in a letter to Minister Burke, said that the sanctions would provoke inflation in the European market without causing any real harm to Russia. The government is currently conducting an investigation, the results of which will be submitted to the European Commission.
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