The Karin, a 400-foot-long (120-metre) cargo vessel, was moored this week in the muddy estuary of Ireland's River Shannon before setting sail for Russia with a cargo of white powder that can be processed into materials used in weapons deployed in Moscow's war against Ukraine.
Alumina, a major raw material for aluminium production, is used in a wide range of products, from toothpaste and lipstick to missiles and drones. A Russian-owned refinery in southern Ireland, Europe's largest alumina processing facility, regularly ships large quantities of the material directly to St Petersburg and other Russian ports.
Nearly five years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, alumina remains outside the European sanctions imposed to weaken Moscow's economy. As a result, the refinery in Aughinish can continue exporting the material to Russia, where some of it is reportedly used in weapons production.
"The material is clearly ending up in military supplies," said Irish lawmaker Ivana Bacik, leader of the opposition Labour Party. "It would be unthinkable for Ireland to be contributing, even in that indirect way, to Putin's war machine."
Pressure is mounting on Ireland to stop the shipments as dozens of European leaders gather in Dublin this week to discuss support for Ukraine. Thursday's summit of the 47-member European Political Community will be followed by a meeting of European Union leaders.
However, Irish government minister Niall Collins told The Associated Press that "there's absolutely no evidence" that the material is entering military supply chains. The government, meanwhile, has refused to release the findings of its investigation into the alumina exports.
Aughinish Alumina said in a statement that its product "has no connection to the Russian military supply chain". It added that an independent company had been hired to conduct monthly audits for Irish authorities to ensure "enhanced traceability".
Alumina: From everyday products to missiles and explosives
Alumina is a chemical compound extracted through the processing of bauxite, a reddish ore mainly mined in Guinea, Australia and China. The white, powdery substance is converted into aluminium, which is then combined with other, less common elements to produce strong, heat-resistant and flexible alloys used in aircraft and missiles. Aluminium is also an important component in rocket fuel and explosives.
Located in County Limerick, the Aughinish refinery was established in the 1970s and acquired in 2007 by Russian aluminium producer Rusal. The company was founded by, and remains partly owned by, Oleg Deripaska, a sanctioned Russian oligarch with links to President Vladimir Putin.
According to the US and Australian governments, Rusal produces virtually all of Russia's aluminium.
Although cargo vessels from Aughinish travel to various destinations across Europe and beyond, a significant number head directly to the Russian port of St Petersburg, according to MarineTraffic data analysed by the AP.
The activist organisation Alumina 22, which is campaigning for sanctions on alumina exports to Russia, estimates that 491,307 metric tonnes of the material were shipped from Ireland to Russia between March and October.
The shipments have become increasingly important to Russia. Since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, two alumina refineries — one in Australia and another in Ukraine — have stopped supplying Russia, reducing its access to the material by around 40%, according to a 2026 report by the Economic Security Council of Ukraine (ESCU).
Ireland now accounts for approximately 17% of Rusal's alumina supply, the ESCU report said.
An investigation published earlier this year by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and The Irish Times found that alumina from Aughinish is processed into aluminium at Russian smelters, with some of the finished metal sold to a trading company supplying Russian defence contractors.
"Virtually everything that comes from Rusal is with a high probability ending up in the hands of Russian military enterprises," said Olena Yurchenko, director of analytics, research and investigations at the ESCU.
Ukraine and EU countries push for sanctions on alumina exports
During a meeting with Irish President Micheál Martin in Dublin in June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concern over European companies with Russian ownership or links to sanctioned oligarchs continuing to supply Moscow with essential materials.
"Unfortunately, there are companies in Europe that are owned or effectively controlled by Russia and its sanctioned oligarchs. They keep supplying the aggressor with essential materials, even now," Zelenskyy said.
Martin acknowledged the concern, saying, "we do not want to be in a position where material emanating from a plant in Ireland goes to support the Russian war machine."
Irish authorities have neither established that the alumina is being used for Russian military purposes nor found evidence proving that it is not, said Enterprise Minister Peter Burke, who oversees the country's sanctions enforcement.
In July, Burke said it had not been possible to verify Rusal's claim that alumina from Ireland was used exclusively to produce aluminium for export from Russia.
Although the Irish government has not made its investigation findings public, it has shared them with the European Commission, which prepares EU sanctions proposals.
EU sanctions envoy David O'Sullivan said there was little doubt that alumina from Ireland was reaching Russian smelters producing materials that were at least partly used by the military-industrial sector.
"I've read the government report. Personally, I think there's no doubt the investigative journalists got it right," he said last month during a meeting organised by the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin.
In July, the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution urging a ban on alumina exports to Russia. However, the material was not included in the EU's 21st sanctions package against Moscow announced that month.
The European Commission is now consulting member states over the Irish shipments. Any new sanctions require unanimous approval from all 27 EU members.
A Commission spokesperson said in July that the bloc's sanctions policy involved maintaining "a delicate balance" between disrupting Russia's war efforts and avoiding "negative impacts" on EU member states, particularly because alumina is considered a critical raw material.
Jobs and economic interests complicate the debate
Supporters of the Aughinish refinery highlight the hundreds of jobs it provides and its importance as a major alumina supplier to European countries.
Maintaining supply chains has become particularly important amid disruptions to cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Collins, who represents County Limerick in Ireland's parliament, said the country had been "hugely resolute in our support for the Ukrainians, and Ukraine hasn't provided any evidence that Aughinish is doing anything adverse."
Opposition politicians, however, remain unconvinced.
Bacik's centre-left Labour Party has proposed temporarily nationalising the refinery, similar to Ireland's intervention in the banking sector following the 2008 financial crisis. She argues that the facility could stop supplying Russia and secure alternative buyers elsewhere in Europe.
"We need to see much stronger action being taken on this from other EU countries if the Irish government isn't willing to do the right thing here," she said.
In Foynes, a windy port town near the refinery, many residents either work at Aughinish or know people employed there. While the facility provides significant local employment, some residents have mixed views about its continued operations.
"It's too big a business for them to close it down," said Joe Hanlon, a retired dockworker. "Too much employment for the government to get involved."
However, he acknowledged that Ireland should take action against the shipments if it wants "to stop the war on Ukraine".