Why Ireland is under fire over its alumina exports to Russia

Ireland is under fire over its continued sales of alumina to Russia, raising concerns that the country might be indirectly helping Moscow fuel its war machine against Ukraine.

Sold as white powder, alumina is the raw material used to produce aluminium, a lightweight metal commonly found in weapons and ammunition on the battlefield.

The timing of the revelations is particularly sensitive for Dublin, which is less than one month away from taking the reins of the EU Council’s six-month presidency.

High Representative Kaja Kallas intends to raise the matter when she meets with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin on Tuesday.

“We should be more creative in finding ways how we can actually stop this war,” Kallas said on Monday during a ministerial meeting in Cyprus.

“(If) some of us still benefit from trading with Russia at the same time, when it is actually making it easier for them to fund this war, then this war will never stop,” she added.

“Wars also end when aggressors run out of money.”

The outrage has steadily grown since the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published an investigation in March about the business ties between Aughinish Alumina, Europe’s largest alumina refinery, and the Russian economy.

According to the findings, the sprawling plant, based in western Ireland, sells alumina to Russian smelters owned by its parent company, United Company Rusal, which in turn sells the metal to a trader that supplies aluminium to sanctioned defence manufacturers.

The weapons made by these manufacturers have been deployed to kill Ukrainian civilians and bombard civilian infrastructure, the OCCRP said. (The investigation traced Irish alumina to the Russian trader, but not to a specific product.)

Aughinish insists its activities are entirely legal because alumina has been spared from restrictions under EU sanctions. By contrast, exports of primary aluminium and refined aluminium goods to Russia are strictly banned.

The company saysalumina exports to Russia represented about 45% of all sales in 2025 and expects the share to be similar at the end of 2026. A “clerical error” was to blame for a much higher figure of 83% in the first three months of this year, it noted.

The Irish government has launched an investigation into the allegations.

Prime Minister Micheál Martin has described Aughinish Alumina as a key actor in a “wider European supply chain”, with links to plants in Sweden and France, and warned that imposing sanctions could drive up inflation and affect 1,000 direct jobs.

“The whole principle of sanctions is we don’t damage ourselves more than Russia, or that they don’t become self-defeating,” Martin said in late May. “It would appear to me now, Aughinish falls into that category.”

The plant has lobbied the Irish government to deter sanctions, RTÉ News reported, citing confidential documents that raised the prospect of nationalisation.

‘Serious concern’

Still, the arguments from Dublin have failed to mitigate the scandal, which comes as Moscow ramps up its large-scale, deadly strikes against Ukrainian cities.

The Ukrainian embassy to Ireland expressedits “serious concern” about the continued alumina sales and listed several types of Russian weapons that contain aluminium, such as ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles and Shahed drones.

“Ukraine fully recognises the importance of protecting jobs, communities, and industrial competitiveness in Ireland and across the European Union,” the embassy said last week.

“At the same time, Russia’s continued war of aggression requires constant vigilance to ensure that commercial activities do not directly or indirectly contribute to sustaining the military capabilities of a state engaged in a brutal and unprovoked war against a sovereign European nation.”

In Brussels, the European Commission has trodden carefully on the matter, mindful that alumina exports to Russia are technically legal under EU rules.

“We are, with every sanctions package, looking at ways that we can close loopholes,” a Commission spokesperson said on Monday afternoon.

“We always appreciate the work of investigative journalists because they do play a fundamental part in what we do on looking at further (restrictive) measures, but I can’t comment on the specific case at this time.”

The executive will soon present its proposal for the 21st round of sanctions against Russia. A group of 39 MEPs has already called for the alumina ban to be added to the package. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna also voiced support.

“We must close every loophole and further weaken Russia’s war machine,” Tsahkna said.

However, sanctions require unanimity of all member states, and the Commission is reluctant to propose measures that it knows will be voted down.