Raw material produced at an alumina refinery in County Limerick has ended up in components for Russian cruise missiles, according to an analysis published by the Kyiv-based Economic Security Council of Ukraine (ESCU). The investigation, compiled by Roman Steblivskyi and his colleagues, traced supply chains linking the Aughinish Alumina plant on the Shannon Estuary to Russian military manufacturers producing specialist gyroscope control units for KH-101 cruise missiles used in Ukraine.
Supply Chain Tracing Connects Limerick Refinery to Russian Missile Production
The ESCU examined trade data, supply lines, and connections between front companies to determine how alumina manufactured in Limerick reaches Russian arms factories. According to the analysis covering the period from 2024 to March 2025, shipments of alumina from the Rusal Aughinish site totaled 540,479.60 tonnes. Valued at more than $307.85 million, these shipments accounted for 9.3% of the total value of alumina and related aluminium oxide imports into Russia.
The report tracked the material from the Limerick refinery to three Russian companies within the Rusal group: Rusal Krasnoyarsk Aluminium Plant, United Company Rusal – trading house, and Rusal Bratsk Aluminium Plant. From there, the material moved to a Russian wholesale distributor, ASK LLC, which handles casting alloys, aluminium powders, and foil. The analysis found that since 2022, more than 100 Russian military companies purchased aluminium from ASK LLC, with 40 of those entities currently operating under European Union sanctions regimes.
End Users and Military Applications Identified in Leaked Tax Data
Leaked Russian tax data allowed researchers to map internal supply networks and identify final end users within the Russian defense sector. One recipient of products from ASK LLC is the PI Plandin Arzamas instrument-making plant, which purchased materials as recently as March 2025 according to the tax records.
The Arzamas plant manufactures gyroscopes, which serve as core components for the control units that maintain controlled flight in KH-101 cruise missiles, designated by NATO as Kodiak. Roman Steblivskyi stated that Russian scientific journals and physical packaging indicate that aluminum processed from these supply chains is utilized in the manufacturing of the gyroscope boxes. “We can see the imports, we can see the business relations and the amounts of money inside Russia, and we can see the final end users of the products as the military producers,” Steblivskyi said.
Sanctions Scrutiny Focuses on Rusal and Oligarch Oleg Deripaska
The Aughinish Alumina refinery is operated by Rusal, a firm with ties to billionaire oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a close associate of Vladimir Putin. Deripaska was sanctioned by the United States in 2022 following the annexation of Crimea and faced subsequent sanctions from the British government in 2022 after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A Swedish tax investigation previously concluded that Deripaska retained control over Rusal.
The controversial Limerick facility has faced sustained scrutiny for continuing to ship alumina back to Russia. Researchers argue that the documented supply chain connections provide sufficient grounds to impose further restrictive measures. “From our perspective, the evidence we gathered of the supply chains is enough to sanction the export of alumina,” Steblivskyi said, adding that similar supply channels involving other nations, such as China, also contribute to the flow of metal alloys into Russia.
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