loading . . . Kaja Kallas’s Dublin visit: Ireland faces heat over aluminium exports to Russia EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas heads to Dublin this week at a sensitive moment for Ireland and the European Union. Her visit coincides with mounting outrage over revelations that an Irish-based refinery has continued shipping vast quantities of alumina to Russia throughout Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The timing is particularly awkward as Ireland prepares to assume the EU’s rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, thrusting Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin and his government into the spotlight on an issue that blends economic pragmatism, moral responsibility, and strategic security concerns.
The controversy centers on Aughinish Alumina, Europe’s largest alumina refinery, located on the Shannon estuary in County Limerick. What began as a story of industrial success has evolved into a complex geopolitical headache stretching from rural Ireland to Brussels and Kyiv. While aluminium itself remains unsanctioned under current EU measures, the scale of exports and their documented links to Russia’s military-industrial complex have sparked intense scrutiny and calls for action.
Tracing the supply chain to Russian weapons
An investigation published on 24 March by the Irish Times Investigations Unit, in collaboration with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the Russian outlet iStories, and The Guardian, laid bare the journey of Irish aluminium. Using customs data, shipping records, satellite imagery, and leaked financial documents, reporters followed the material from the Limerick plant to Russian smelters deep in Siberia.
Ships dock twice daily at Aughinish’s private jetty, unloading bauxite from Guinea and Brazil before carrying out refined aluminium. Much of this white powder travels by sea to Novy Port near St Petersburg, then by rail nearly 5,000 kilometers to Rusal-owned smelters in Krasnoyarsk and Sayanogorsk. Krasnoyarsk, one of the world’s largest aluminum facilities, received around 480,000 tonnes of Irish alumina in 2024, roughly two-thirds of its supply. The plant openly states on its website that it is Russia’s sole producer of high-purity aluminum essential for fighter jets and missiles.
From the smelters, the metal flows to Aluminium Sales Company (ASK) in Moscow, a major supplier to the Russian defense sector. The investigation identified 107 defense-related customers of ASK, including 40 under EU sanctions. Among them are producers of Iskander-M ballistic missiles, howitzers, T-72 tanks, cruise missile components, and engines for Sukhoi combat aircraft. While smelters blend aluminium from multiple sources and exact batch tracing is industrially impractical, metallurgy experts and the weight of evidence led investigators to conclude it is highly likely that Irish material contributes to the raw stock for Russian military equipment.
The trade has surged dramatically since the invasion. According to Central Statistics Office data, Irish alumina exports to Russia rose from about 394,000 tons in 2020 to over 826,000 tons in 2024, with Russia’s share of Aughinish’s output climbing from 23% to 68%. Ireland was one of only three EU countries that did not significantly cut exports to Russia post-2022, with total Irish goods sold to Russia hitting a record €836 million in 2024. Early 2026 figures showed even higher concentrations toward Russia before adjustments and disputes over data accuracy emerged between the government, the company, and statisticians.
The plant’s Russian ownership adds complexity
Aughinish is ultimately controlled by United Company Rusal, part of the EN+ Group founded by sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Despite this, the refinery employs around 400 people directly, plus hundreds of contractors and indirect jobs, contributing an estimated €150 million annually to the local economy. Local leaders emphasize that the operation is run and staffed by Irish workers, pays Irish taxes, and has become deeply embedded in the region over four decades.
Successive Irish governments have defended the plant vigorously. Lobbying records show company representatives met officials 64 times since 2016, including 18 occasions after the full-scale invasion. Former diplomats acknowledge the growing discomfort of Russian ownership but point to practical realities. Closure could trigger massive economic disruption and leave the state with a costly environmental cleanup of an estimated 50 million tons of caustic red mud waste.
In Brussels, the European Commission has so far held back from recommending sanctions on the company or the product, citing potential harm to broader European industry. Aughinish supplies a significant share of the EU’s aluminium needs, and officials worry that restrictions would prove self-defeating, harming Western manufacturers as much as Russia. Taoiseach Micheál Martin has echoed this view, describing potential curbs as counterproductive.
Yet international pressure continues to build. The Ukrainian Embassy in Dublin voiced serious concern, noting the aluminium’s extensive use in Russia’s military-industrial complex. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot called the findings extremely disturbing. Thirty-nine MEPs from 12 countries urged Kallas and Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič to halt the exports, while Irish MEPs expressed deep concern. During a recent press event in Cyprus, Kallas herself highlighted the need for creativity in sanctions and stressed that any trade helping fund Russia’s war undermines efforts to end the conflict.
Aughinish has pushed back firmly, insisting both alumina and aluminum are vital civilian commodities and that the company complies fully with EU law. In responses to the investigation and letters to ministers, it argued that sanctions would have minimal impact on Russia while risking inflation in European markets. The company has not directly refuted the core finding about downstream military use but has reserved the right to pursue legal action over what it sees as a biased narrative.
As Kallas engages with Irish leaders, the government’s ongoing review, intended to look beyond the company itself, will feed into European discussions.
Ireland’s upcoming EU presidency adds urgency to resolving this awkward position. For now, the refinery on the Shannon continues operations, a symbol of the messy realities of modern geopolitics.
Sources: Irish Times, Guardian, The Diplomatic Service of the European Union, UK Defence Journal
Caption: President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas gives a press conference following the Gymnich Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers at the port in Limassol, Cyprus, 28 May 2026. EPA/George Christophorou https://eualive.net/kaja-kallass-dublin-visit-ireland-faces-heat-over-aluminium-exports-to-russia/
