Putin puts RFK Jr’s son Conor on most wanted list for fighting in Ukraine war
Robert F Kennedy Jr’s son Conor has been placed on Russia’s international wanted list for fighting in the Ukraine war, according to Russia’s state media.
The U.S. health secretary’s third child revealed he joined an international group of volunteers to fight against Vladimir Putin’s soldiers in 2022, the year the still-ongoing conflict began. At the time, Kennedy said he wanted to help the Ukrainians following Putin’s illegal invasion and was “willing to die” for the cause.
Four years later, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS, a Moscow court has authorised the 32 year-old Kennedy’s arrest in absentia while accusing him of acting as a mercenary for the Ukrainian army.
Kennedy, the grand-nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and who once dated pop star Taylor Swift, would face between seven and ten years in prison in the unlikely event he was in court for any conviction.
The decision to arrest Kennedy, albeit in absence, could nevertheless further strain the relationship between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, given that his father is a key part of the latter’s cabinet. He is among several foreign volunteers hailing from countries including the U.S., U.K., Sweden, Colombia, and Georgia to have been handed a similar ruling.
Kennedy revealed he had fought in the early months of Ukraine’s war in an Instagram post in 2022, having signed up to Ukraine’s International Legion despite having no previous military experience.
“I was deeply moved by what I saw happening in Ukraine over the past year. I wanted to help,” he wrote. “When I heard about Ukraine’s International Legion, I knew I was going, and I went to the embassy to enlist the next day.
“I told one person here [in the US] where I was, and I told one person there my real name. I didn’t want my family or friends to worry, and I didn’t want to be treated differently there.”
Kennedy said he believed the war will “shape the fate of democracy in this century” and urged people to “join the legion, help on the border, or send medical supplies”.
“I liked being a soldier, more than I had expected. It is scary. But life is simple, and the rewards for finding courage and doing good are substantial,” he continued.
“My friends there know why I had to come home. l’ll always owe them for their example. I know I’m lucky I made it back, but I would also take all the risks we took over again.”
Kennedy, who reportedly had a whirlwind romance with Swift in 2012, this year married Brazilian singer-songwriter Giulia Be.
The singer praised her future-husband in her response to his Instagram post about his involvement in the war.
“You’re the bravest man I’ve ever known, my love…,” Kennedy’s then-girlfriend wrote.
“Being away from you and worrying for all those months was incredibly hard, but we kept our faith all the way through, and i just want to tell you [once more] how proud I am.”
Kennedy said he did not serve long in Ukraine; the war began in February 2022 and he shared the social media post in October the same year. Russian authorities say Kennedy fought for the Ukrainian army incognito in the Kharkiv area, though this is not confirmed.
Among the other foreign volunteers faced with similar pronouncements by the Russian court, according to Tass, are U.S. citizen Ingram Asbill Tracy James, 37 and British citizen Shorney Joseph Richard Ryan, who served as a drone operator.