Ireland under pressure over alumina shipments to Russia
Exports from a Russian-owned Irish refinery are drawing renewed scrutiny as European leaders gather in Dublin and debate measures to restrict Moscow’s war supplies.
By Naledi Dlamini ·
Ireland is facing renewed demands to halt alumina exports to Russia amid concerns that material from a refinery in County Limerick is reaching weapons manufacturers. The dispute gained attention as European leaders gathered in Dublin for a European Political Community summit on Thursday, November 12, ahead of an EU leaders’ meeting on Friday.
Earlier in the week, the cargo ship Karin departed the River Shannon estuary carrying alumina to Russia. The Russian-owned Aughinish refinery, Europe’s largest producer of the substance, regularly ships directly to Russian ports. Alumina remains outside European sanctions imposed over Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, allowing the trade to continue.
Refined from bauxite ore, alumina is used to produce aluminum for consumer goods as well as military equipment. Aluminum alloys can be used in aircraft and missiles, while aluminum also goes into rocket fuel and explosives. Russian aluminum producer Rusal purchased the Aughinish plant in 2007. Its founder and continuing part-owner, Oleg Deripaska, is a sanctioned oligarch with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Shipping records from MarineTraffic analyzed by The Associated Press show regular voyages from Aughinish to St. Petersburg. Campaign group Alumina 22 estimates that Ireland shipped 491,307 metric tons of alumina to Russia between March and October. The Economic Security Council of Ukraine says Ireland now supplies roughly 17% of Rusal’s alumina. Its 2026 report says the loss of exports from factories in Australia and Ukraine following the 2022 invasion reduced Russia’s supplies by about 40%.
An investigation published earlier this year by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Irish Times found that Aughinish alumina is processed into aluminum in Russia, with some sold to a trader supplying Russian defense contractors. EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan said last month that, after reading the Irish government’s report, he believed the journalists’ findings were correct.
Irish minister Niall Collins disputes the military connection, saying there is no evidence that the material reaches military supply chains. Aughinish Alumina also denies such a link and says an independent company provides monthly audits to Irish authorities to improve traceability. Enterprise Minister Peter Burke said in July that Ireland had found neither evidence of military use nor proof excluding it. He said Rusal’s claim that Irish alumina was used only for aluminum exported from Russia could not be verified.
The government has shared its findings with the European Commission but has not published them. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she would raise the exports with Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee on Thursday. Although the European Parliament backed a non-binding call for an export ban in July, alumina was absent from the EU’s 21st sanctions package that month. The commission is consulting member states, whose unanimous agreement is required for sanctions.
Supporters of the refinery emphasize its hundreds of jobs and its importance to European alumina supplies. Opposition Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik favors temporary nationalization and argues that the plant could replace Russian buyers with European customers. In nearby Foynes, retired docker Joe Hanlon described employment as a powerful obstacle to government intervention, while also saying action should be taken if Ireland wants to help stop the war in Ukraine.
