Why Ireland is under fire over its alumina exports to Russia, 8 June 2026

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.