CERN oversees the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator.
. Ukrainian scientists, however, requested that CERN halted cooperation with Russian scientific institutions in response to the invasion that began in late February, a measure that the council took under consideration in a meeting held Tuesday .
"The 23 Member States of CERN condemn, in the strongest terms, the military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, and deplore the resulting loss of life and humanitarian impact," CERN's council saidreleased after the meeting.
In response to the situation, the council has agreed to support Ukrainian collaborators in high-energy physics, to suspend Russia from"Observer" status and to not begin new collaborations with Russian institutions. "The situation will continue to be monitored carefully and the Council is ready to take any further measures, as appropriate, at its future meetings," the statement added."The CERN Council also expresses its support to the many members of CERN's Russian scientific community who reject this invasion."
To date, European and American military forces are not involved in the conflict, fearing that escalation might lead to the use of nuclear weapons. Instead, international opposition to the Russian invasion has focused on economic and political sanctions.