The European Commission is preparing to restrict access to goods that Russia could use to make military equipment, such as Irish‑produced alumina, that may be indirectly feeding the Russian war machine.

An investigation, carried out by The Irish Times in collaboration with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, found that the Aughinish Alumina plant has been shipping large volumes of alumina to smelters in Russia.

That aluminium is then sold to the Moscow-based trading company ASK. However, ASK’s 2024 customer list included more than 40 EU-sanctioned companies, many of which are owned by the Russian defence conglomerate Rostec and produce weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles, rocket systems, and long-range bombers, according to sanctions listings.

The investigation could not trace a specific batch of Aughinish alumina to a particular weapon because their alumina is blended with alumina from other sources during smelting. But customs and trade data show that since 2023, more than half of the plant’s alumina exports have gone to smelters owned by Rusal in Russia. After processing, those smelters have sold over $650m of aluminium to ASK, which in turn serves sanctioned Russian defence companies.

David O’Sullivan, a former Irish ambassador and the EU’s chief sanctions envoy, told The Irish Times the findings of an investigation into shipments from the Aughinish Alumina plant in Limerick to Russian smelters were “worrying”.

He said the EU would continue to undermine Moscow’s ability to wage its “war of aggression” against Ukraine, including by “restricting access to commodities that could be processed and then used for the production of military equipment”.

O’Sullivan is also pushing companies to conduct deeper due diligence, saying “the company should undertake a review” to ensure its products are not finding their way into the Russian military machine.

Alumina itself is not currently covered by EU sanctions, even though the bloc banned imports of Russian‑made aluminium in February 2025 to cut off a key revenue stream for Moscow’s war. Bilateral trade between the EU and Russia has fallen by 75% since 2022, but alumina exports from Aughinish to Russia have doubled over the same period, and they remain fully legal under EU rules.

Pressure on the European Commission has grown in the European Parliament. European Parliament vice president Pina Picierno has written to the Commission asking whether alumina will be included in the next sanctions package on Russia, arguing it is “unacceptable that, while the EU funds Ukraine’s defence, a Russian‑owned company operates undisturbed within a member state, supplying the Kremlin’s military industry.”

Furthermore, a group of 39 MEPs have also written to the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, and the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, demanding that the EU stop the “export of aluminium products to the Russian defence industry” and further review the findings of the investigation.

Irish prime minister Micheál Martin said there will be no change in state support for Aughinish, which is the EU’s largest alumina refinery and supplies 37% of the bloc’s smelter‑grade alumina and employs hundreds locally.

“There are no restrictions on Aughinish Alumina, and there haven’t been, and Europe hasn’t proposed them,” Martin said. “If there were severe restrictions, it would be devastating for Aughinish and all those working there as well.”

He added that the government is “keeping everything under review” and working with EU partners, noting that alumina is a vital commodity for civilian industries across Europe. Aughinish told local media that it is operating in compliance with all EU laws, describing alumina and aluminium as “basic commodities” that serve broad societal needs.