CERN ends cooperation with Russian institutes

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) on Nov. 30 officially cut ties with research institutes in Russia, in accordance with a decision to allow the cooperation agreement to expire due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Following the full-scale invasion, the CERN Council in 2022 declared its intention to terminate its International Cooperation Agreements (ICAs) with Russia and Belarus after their expiration in 2024. The Council affirmed the decision in fall of 2023.

The decision means that some 350 Russian scientists will now be expelled from CERN, which is based near Geneva on Swiss and French territory. Cooperation with Russian scientists associated with CERN under different agreements will continue, the news agency Swissinfo reported.

CERN's cooperation with researchers from Belarusian institutes ended earlier this year, when their ICA expired in June.

ICAs normally run for five years, with the expectation that they will be renewed for the same period of time unless either party submits notice at least six months before the expiration date.

CERN is the world's largest particle physics research center and the operator of the Large Hadron Collider.

Russia has never been a CERN member state, but held status as an observer state. This meant Russia did not contribute to the agency's budget and had no decision-making rights.

Ukrainian nuclear plants reduce output in response to large-scale Russian attack

Nuclear power plants in Ukraine reduced electricity production on Nov. 28 as a precautionary measure in response to a Russian mass aerial attack on Ukraine, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

The Kyiv IndependentVolodymyr Ivanyshyn