Executives at Aughinish Alumina held confidential discussions with senior Irish government officials regarding the plant's operational risks, ownership structure, and potential sanctions following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to internal documents released under Freedom of Information.

Minutes from a May 2023 meeting reveal that senior management at the Foynes refinery met with then-Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney and department officials. During the meeting, company executives noted that the war in Ukraine had created a "challenging environment" for the facility due to its ownership links to Russian metals giant Rusal and sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

According to the records, plant management thanked the department and the Irish government for their support during years of uncertainty, citing previous threats of U.S. sanctions in 2018 as well as the economic fallout from the war. Plant manager Ciaran Kelleher told officials that the Limerick facility supplied approximately 10 per cent of the alumina used by Rusal in Russia, with most finished aluminium subsequently exported.

The refinery, situated on the Shannon Estuary in County Limerick, is Europe's largest alumina plant, directly employing several hundred workers and supporting around 1,000 jobs in the regional economy. Trade data indicated that shipments of alumina from Foynes to Russian smelters rose following the 2022 invasion, representing a significant share of the refinery's business.

The disclosures follow heightened scrutiny over the plant's supply chains after media investigations traced Irish alumina to Russian smelters supplying defense-linked entities. An Irish government inquiry completed earlier this year found no concrete proof that Aughinish output entered Russia's military supply chain, though officials noted they could not rule out the possibility. Ukraine and several Baltic nations continue to lobby the European Union for a ban on alumina exports to Russia.