EU Considers Sanctions on Irish Alumina Plant Supplying Russian Defense
The EU is considering sanctioning an Irish alumina plant owned by Russia's Rusal, which supplies key raw materials to Moscow's defense industry. While some member states push for a ban, Ireland fears severe economic fallout.
The European Union is considering imposing sanctions on an Irish plant that supplies a significant portion of the alumina—the raw material used to produce aluminum—to the Russian industry, The Economist reported on Sunday. According to the report, several EU member states are seeking to include the plant, Aughinish Alumina, in the upcoming sanctions package against Moscow, negotiations for which are set to begin in early October.
The plant, which is the largest alumina refinery in Europe, is owned by the Russian metals giant Rusal. According to The Economist, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia's share of the plant's exports has surged from 24% in 2021 to 68% in 2025. Rusal was founded by oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who has been on the EU sanctions list since 2022 due to his close ties to the Kremlin. However, since 2018 he has held only a minority stake in the corporation, leaving the Irish plant off the list.
The connection between the plant and the Russian defense industry was exposed in March by an investigation by OCCRP and partner media outlets, including The Irish Times and The Guardian. According to the investigation, since 2023 more than half of the alumina exported by the plant has been sent to Rusal's facilities in Russia, which use it to produce aluminum. These facilities sold aluminum worth over $650 million to a Moscow-based trading company named ASK, whose clients include more than 40 Russian arms manufacturers targeted by European sanctions.
The Link to Russian Missiles and Tanks
According to The Economist, ASK supplies aluminum to over 100 defense companies in Russia, which use it to manufacture missiles, tanks, and bombers. Among other things, its aluminum has reached facilities that produce navigation components for cruise missiles, engines for Sukhoi fighter jets, and Iskandar missiles.
The investigative journalists noted that they were unable to trace a specific shipment from the Irish plant to a specific weapon because during the production process, the alumina mixes with alumina from other sources. The export itself is legal, as the EU has not placed any restrictions on the sale of alumina to Russia. The company denies any wrongdoing, telling OCCRP that it operates "in full compliance with all relevant EU laws, including sanctions."
The connection between a plant located on EU soil and the Russian weapons industry has sparked outrage across the continent. The EU's sanctions enforcement chief, David O'Sullivan, who is Irish himself, said after the investigation was published that it is "very worrying" if alumina from the plant reaches, "even indirectly," the Russian war machine. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot described the findings as "extremely disturbing," Estonia demanded a ban on alumina exports to Russia in the previous sanctions package, and in July the European Parliament called for such a ban in a non-binding resolution.
Irish Concerns and Political Dilemmas
On the other hand, Ireland fears the economic damage. In a letter to the government in Dublin obtained by The Economist, the plant's management argued that without sales to Russia, it would be forced to shut down, which would harm the European aluminum industry and other manufacturers. The plant provides about 1,000 jobs, and according to the company, it sells excess electricity to the Irish power grid sufficient for about 200,000 households. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin stated back in May that sanctions on the plant would be "self-defeating" and would harm the European economy more than Putin's regime.
The Economist rejects the argument that closing the plant would harm European industry. According to the weekly, European aluminum plants consume about two million tons of alumina a year, and since the beginning of the year, the Irish plant has supplied them with only about 300,000 tons. Even if it closes, European plants can obtain alumina from other sources, including four other refineries on the continent that hardly export to Russia at all. Russia itself might suffer more from the closure, as in 2024 Ireland was the third-largest supplier of alumina to Russia, after China and Indonesia.
Although Ireland is a member of the EU and declares support for Ukraine, alongside modest financial aid, Dublin adheres to the tradition of neutrality it adopted upon independence from Britain, maintaining it even during World War II. While the Irish center-right supports the West, a view persists among the left and republican parties that also sees NATO as a warmongering factor.
Negotiations on the next sanctions package will open in early October, and several EU countries are already demanding that it ban the export of alumina to Russia. "It's complicated and not simple," an EU official dealing with sanctions told The Economist. However, Ireland alone can block the move, as sanctions in the EU require consensus.
