THE TEAM

@realLangerDan; @Galwaybaywatch; @OckersM; @punknafo: @GhostofKyiv_; @vatniksoep_nl

Email us: team@alumina21.com

THE STORY SO FAR

When we first started what would become the Alumina21 campaign, none of us imagined it would grow into a Europe‑wide movement. It began with a simple, unsettling discovery: despite the EU’s sweeping sanctions after Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine, alumina — the raw material used to make aluminium — had been left off the list. That meant Ireland’s Aughinish Alumina refinery, the largest in Europe, could legally continue exporting huge volumes to Russia. We then we saw the trade data.

The numbers were staggering. Not only had the exports continued, they had increased. Shipments worth hundreds of millions of dollars were still flowing to Russian smelters like Krasnoyarsk and Sayanogorsk. As more investigative reporting emerged, it became clear that aluminium produced from Irish alumina was entering supply chains linked to Russian weapons systems. That was the moment many of us realised this wasn’t just a policy gap — it was a strategic failure with real‑world consequences.

In the early days, our work was mostly about exposure and explanation. We built simple tools to help ordinary people write to their MEPs. We broke down the supply chain in plain language. We shared every verified piece of evidence we could find. What surprised us was how quickly people responded. The more we explained, the more the issue resonated. It wasn’t abstract geopolitics — it was a loophole that undermined the very sanctions Europe claimed were airtight.

As momentum grew, so did our responsibilities. Journalists began contacting us. Policymakers asked for briefings. Researchers shared new data. We realised we had become a bridge between public pressure, political action, and investigative reporting. That’s when the hashtag #Alumina21 emerged (now #Alumina22)— a clear, simple demand: include alumina in the EU’s 22nd sanctions package.

The turning point came when MEPs started publicly declaring their support. One became five. Five became twenty. And then, after months of relentless pressure, evidence‑sharing, and citizen engagement, we reached a milestone none of us expected so soon: 50 MEPs standing with us. Now we are at 75, over 10% of the European Parliament.

Today, the campaign is no longer just a website or a hashtag. It’s a community of people who refused to accept that a critical sanctions loophole should remain open. We’re not finished — but we’ve proven that informed citizens, working together, can push Europe to confront uncomfortable truths and take meaningful action.