The revelations in The Irish Times about Aughinish Alumina in Limerick came a day after Russia launched a wave of missile and drone attacks across Ukraine that killed four people and injured dozens more.

While the Government has refused to arm Ukraine’s military, a plant in Ireland has exported vast amounts of alumina via its Russian parent company United Company Rusal to Russian smelters.

The investigation, which was carried out in co-operation with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), detailed how smelters supply aluminium to a Moscow-based trading company, which in turn supplies Russia’s military industry. The aluminium is purchased by dozens of arms companies that make weapons for Russia’s war in Ukraine, which kill and maim on an industrial scale.

Although there is no suggestion that those working at Aughinish were aware of Rusal’s extensive ties to companies that supply European Union-sanctioned arms manufacturers, these allegations are exceptionally serious and could damage Ireland’s reputation internationally.

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More than 15,000 civilians in Ukraine have been killed since Russia’s latest invasion of the country in 2022; the war has also claimed the lives of an estimated 55,000 members of Ukraine’s military. Ireland has provided substantial aid to the Ukrainian government over the last four years – more than €467 million in financial aid and support – even if the secretary general of the Department of Foreign........

© The Irish Times