Sean Pollock

Scotsman living in Dublin. Sunday Indo Business Journalist. 🇺🇦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Sean Pollock @SeanPollock44]

On Thursday morning, my Ukrainian family had to hide in a basement as bombs landed near their homes.

This is the most emotional piece I will ever have to write. Russia’s invasion is inflicting awful pain on everyday people - my family are suffering. 🇺🇦
https://t.co/ktrzfuY1Ei

[Christopher Miller @ChristopherJM]

Russian customs records from 2025, reviewed by @FT, show the largest recipient of the alumina is Rusal’s plant in Krasnoyarsk, a major aluminium production centre in Siberia. The city is listed as a critical military-industrial hub by the Kyiv School of Economics.
@jude_webber @xtophercook
https://t.co/b5VvQIAYwQ

[Bojan Pancevski @bopanc]

The sanctions against Russia are so lax that even Putin's cronies are able to buy western jets and expand their luxury lifestyles.
My report via @WSJ https://t.co/dVLFZ7w4mL

[Sean Pollock @SeanPollock44]

Shock horror. The war will end when Putin is in a box.

[Bloomberg @business]

Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call to meet and negotiate an end to his war in Ukraine. https://t.co/YeXrxauSED

[Roger Myerson @rbmyerson]

President Zelenskyy uses truth as the ultimate weapon for the defense of his nation. Everyone should read his letter to Putin.
https://t.co/xGjfD0YyNe

[Christopher Miller @ChristopherJM]

Zelenskyy writes to Putin in an open letter and proposes direct talks to end Russia's war, citing Trump's disinterest: "Ukraine proposes to end this war."

"This must be done honestly, with dignity, and with guarantees that the war will not be reignited.

"We see that the United States is fully focused on the issue of Iran, and it would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the center of its attention.

"Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — and you.

"I am proposing a meeting."

[Sean Pollock @SeanPollock44]

What a leader 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦. Must read.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

Open Letter to the President of the Russian Federation: https://t.co/mEvYqYiqus

[Sean Pollock @SeanPollock44]

If this was material being sold to Israel for their drones/bombs, this story would be absolutely massive in Ireland, likely with protests in the streets.

[Olena Tregub @OTregub]

Ireland’s contribution to European security appears to be exporting alumina to Russia.

According to Eurostat, Ireland accounted for roughly 94% of all EU exports of alumina to Russia in 2023 (€231 million), 98% in 2024 (€347 million), and 99% in 2025 (€316 million).

Germany, Italy, and everyone else are statistical noise by comparison.

According to investigators, Irish alumina goes to 40 firms that have been sanctioned by the EU, and whose weapons have killed thousands of civilians and caused widespread damage in Ukraine.

A fascinating interpretation of “neutrality”: supplying a key raw material for Russia’s aluminium industry while Europe debates how to stop financing the Kremlin’s war machine. But important to mention that European Union still allows export of alumina to Russia in principle.#alumina21

[Alex Wickham @alexwickham]

Bloomberg News exclusive:

Vladimir Putin has been told by senior Russian officials that the war in Ukraine is becoming unaffordable, the most serious sign of internal division in Moscow since the full-scale invasion began

https://t.co/gpk6OChdlC

[Barry Andrews MEP @BarryAndrewsMEP]

➡️ While neither the company Aughinish Alumina, nor the sale of alumina to Russia, is currently sanctioned, if this data is correct, both the Irish govt 🇮🇪 and @EU_Commission 🇪🇺 must rapidly and fully investigate.

We need clarity on how much alumina is reaching, or likely reaching, the Russian military, how dependent they are on this supply and how the company could diversify as soon as possible.

EU sanctions must cause more negative impact on the Russian economy than our own.

But all of us who strongly support Ukraine 🇺🇦 must examine every way possible to undermine Putin’s criminal war machine.

[KyivPost @KyivPost]

Loud explosions are being heard in Kyiv right now, Kyiv Post correspondents report.

[Hibernian Football Club @HibernianFC]

I am Hibs.

An exclusive 𝗛𝗶𝗯𝘀 𝗧𝗩 documentary.

Available Friday 5 June.

🔗 https://t.co/JAn5su0jWd

[Gianl1974 @Gianl1974]

🇬🇧🇮🇪 Britain is sounding the alarm about an EU country that has become a"backdoor" for Russian spies

We're talking about Ireland. Dublin has issued 14,000 visas to Russian citizens - with a 90% approval rate since the start of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ireland is a member of the Common Travel Area along with Great Britain, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. This means that anyone who enters Ireland effectively gains access to Britain - without additional checks.

[The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent]

⚡️Data reveals Irish alumina factory exporting more product to Russia than government claimed.

Ireland's prime minister claimed that including Aughinish Alumina in the EU's next sanctions would harm Europe more than Russia, but evidence shows otherwise.
https://t.co/YKAYFskrqf

[Caolan @CaolanReports]

Every day, ships leave this russian owned factory in Ireland straight for St Petersburg carrying thousands of tonnes of raw alumina for the war machine.

There’s corruption everywhere. Locals tell me politicians are bought by oligarchs.

Ireland is no longer militarily neutral.

[Sean Pollock @SeanPollock44]

@holyroodmandy Is that really shocking? I do the exact same.

[Sean Pollock @SeanPollock44]

Hate how hard UEFA and FIFA are trying to Americanise football. No real football fan in Europe wants this, other than corporate types who just view the sport as a sponsorship opportunity.

[eyeheartpost @eyeheartpost]

The Killers opening the Champions League final was one of the best music intros to a sporting event I’ve seen in a while! ⚽️ 🎶

[Sean Pollock @SeanPollock44]

@TEnglishSport Sorry Tom, but there is nothing controversial in that VAR footage. People seeing what they want to see because they wanted a team not called Celtic or Rangers to win the league. Thats what the reaction is all about.

[Sean Pollock @SeanPollock44]

@mrewanmurray Ewan, you have a horse in the race. The horse lost. The VAR review couldn’t have been clearer as well. Only contentious decision out the lot is the Kyzi penalty. TBH I think McLean explained it well and was right. If that’s a foul then it’s a foul on Welsh for the goal.

[Sean Pollock @SeanPollock44]

@ZoryaLondonsk *in 2022

[Sean Pollock @SeanPollock44]

@ZoryaLondonsk Didn’t Rayo fans support Ukraine when the war broke out?