The six-month Irish EU Council presidency began on Wednesday (1 July) with a rebuke from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who slammed European companies that still have business with Russia, such as the Russian-owned Aughinish Alumina factory in Ireland.
At the historic Dublin Castle, speaking after EU Council president António Costa, Zelensky said that more could be done to pressure Russia and limit its aggression against Ukraine.
“I urge you to continue support through new European Union sanctions,” he said, mentioning Russia’s shadow fleet and entities that Putin still relies on to keep the war ongoing.
“Unfortunately, there are companies in Europe that are owned or effectively controlled by Russia and its sanctioned oligarchs. They keep supplying the Russians with essential materials even now,” he told the crowd of politicians, diplomats and journalists in the Irish capital.
“Every tonne of raw material that ends up in Russia is used against us in this war. We hope we won’t have to wait for a month,” Zelensky said, just a few hours before Russia launched another massive attack in Kyiv.
