Russian scientists continue to access cutting-edge nuclear research at CERN through a controversial partnership with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), an institution with international ties but located just 130 km north of Moscow, according to a recent investigation by Forbes energy and security correspondent Ariel Cohen.

“There is a reason the Manhattan Project was kept under strict security measures – and even then, there were leaks,” Cohen writes, drawing parallels to historical scientific espionage.

While CERN officially expelled Russia after its 2022 invasion, Russian scientists have continued their involvement through JINR. The arrangement has become more concerning following Russia’s November 2024 expansion of its nuclear doctrine, which lowered the threshold for atomic weapons use against non-nuclear states backed by nuclear powers.

“Throughout the Cold War, the Soviets ran a massive spying operation to gain access to submarine, computer, and space tech,” Cohen notes.

Ukraine’s CERN representative, Professor Boris Grynyov, revealed that between 2010 and 2024, JINR directly collaborated with Russian defense manufacturers, including those producing military UAVs, missile systems, and microelectronics.

“JINR has multiple joint ventures with FSB and even operates its trade union office out of an FSB building in Dubna, Moscow Oblast,” Grynyov further detailed JINR’s deep ties to Russian security services.

The security implications extend beyond the Russia-Ukraine war. JINR’s connections to North Korea and Iran, formalized through defense treaties with Moscow in 2024 and 2025, raise concerns about nuclear research proliferation. The institute’s 2025 Topical Plan lists collaborations with at least five Iranian organizations, including one with known ties to Iran’s nuclear program.

“The only way to counter Russian scientific espionage is to stop allowing malign actors to hide behind “scientific neutrality” when the actions by these organizations are clearly not peaceful,” says German Bundestag member Peter Beyer, calling for comprehensive sanctions on JINR and its key collaborators.

JINR did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment.

Read more:

• CERN severs Russian science ties, three years after Ukraine invasion
• The EU banned Russian timber—then bought € 1.5 billion worth anyway
• EU proposes Russian aluminum ban in new sanctions package
• EU sanctions cost Russia € 400 billion, says French foreign minister
• Nine European companies supply $66 million in military-linked equipment to Russia despite sanctions