Conor Kennedy, the son of US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been placed on Russia’s international wanted list after Moscow accused him of fighting as a mercenary alongside Ukrainian forces, according to reports.
The Basmanny District Court in Moscow approved an arrest order for the 32-year-old Kennedy in absentia, according to reports carried by Russian state media. The charges could carry a prison sentence of seven to 10 years if he is captured.
The warrant stems from Kennedy’s previously disclosed involvement with Ukraine’s International Legion, a unit that includes foreign volunteers fighting alongside Ukrainian forces.
The Russian accusations have not been independently established by Western authorities, and Kennedy has not publicly responded to the latest reports.
Kennedy secretly joined Ukraine’s International Legion
Kennedy disclosed his involvement in October 2022, after returning to the United States. He said he had secretly travelled to Ukraine and enlisted with the International Legion following Russia’s invasion.
“Like many people, I was deeply moved by what I saw happening in Ukraine over the past year. I wanted to help,” Kennedy wrote at the time.
He said he deliberately kept his identity and whereabouts secret because he did not want his family and friends to worry or to receive special treatment while serving.
“I told one person here where I was, and I told one person there my real name,” he wrote.
‘I was also willing to die there’
Kennedy said he had no previous military experience when he joined the Ukrainian forces.
He acknowledged that he was not an experienced marksman but said he could carry heavy equipment and learn quickly. He was eventually sent to the northeastern front.
“I was also willing to die there,” Kennedy wrote in his account of the experience.
He spent roughly two and a half months in Ukraine before returning to the US, according to recent reports.
RFK Jr. initially worried, later expressed pride
Kennedy’s decision came as a surprise to his family. RFK Jr. previously recalled that he and his wife became suspicious after seeing credit-card charges from Poland and Ukraine.
The younger Kennedy had reportedly left a law-firm job without telling his parents about his plans.
RFK Jr. said he initially expressed anger and concern after learning what his son had done. But he recalled Kennedy telling him: “Dad, this is what you taught me to do: to stand up for what I believe in.”
RFK Jr. subsequently said he was proud of his son, while acknowledging that Conor’s views on the war differed from his own.
Kennedy is now in the United States and has continued his legal career, according to recent reports.
For now, the Russian arrest order remains an in-absentia proceeding. Kennedy would face the reported prison sentence only if he were apprehended and convicted under Russian jurisdiction.
