Nicolai Haugsted
Russia takes aim at Trump administration family with extraordinary arrest warrant.
Russia has opened a new legal front involving the family of a senior member of Donald Trump’s administration, targeting an American who briefly fought alongside Ukrainian forces following Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
According to The Daily Beast, a Moscow court has issued an arrest warrant for Conor Kennedy, the 32-year-old son of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Russian authorities accuse Kennedy of serving as a mercenary for Ukraine and have reportedly placed him on an international wanted list.
Kennedy joined Ukraine’s International Legion during the early stages of the war and later publicly discussed his decision to travel there. Russia routinely characterizes foreigners serving alongside Ukrainian forces as mercenaries.
Court acts years after Kennedy fought in Ukraine
Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ordered Kennedy’s arrest in absentia. A conviction under the accusation could carry a prison sentence of between seven and 10 years should he come under Russian jurisdiction.
Kennedy’s involvement with Ukraine has been public knowledge since 2022, making the timing of the Russian proceedings notable.
He disclosed his military service in an Instagram post in October that year, explaining that Russia’s invasion had prompted him to volunteer.
“I told one person here 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 wrote.
Kennedy said he had little previous military experience and spent only a relatively short period in Ukraine. His service reportedly included fighting in the Kharkiv region as part of the International Legion.
Specific dates for his arrival and departure were never disclosed.
Said he was willing to die in Ukraine
Kennedy described himself as “deeply moved” by events in Ukraine and said at the time that he had been “willing to die there.”
His 2022 account also offered unusually strong praise for the foreign volunteers alongside whom he served.
“The people I met were the bravest I have ever known. My fellow legionnaires — who came from different countries, backgrounds, ideologies — are true freedom fighters,” he wrote.
Kennedy also said he had enjoyed being a soldier despite the limited duration of his deployment.
No explanation has been publicly provided for why Russian authorities pursued the case nearly four years after his involvement became widely known.
Previous brush with the law
Conor Kennedy is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s third-oldest child and the first from his marriage to the late Mary Richardson Kennedy.
His name previously attracted attention beyond his prominent political family through a brief relationship with Taylor Swift.
Kennedy also faced legal trouble in Colorado in 2016 following an altercation outside a nightclub. Reports at the time said he intervened after a friend was targeted with a homophobic slur.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. subsequently expressed mixed feelings about his son’s involvement in the confrontation.
“Like any father, I don’t want to see my son fighting or involved with the police,” Kennedy said at the time. “But on the other hand, I’m proud that he stands up to bullies.”
Conor Kennedy later pleaded guilty in connection with the incident and received a six-month deferred sentence alongside other conditions. Russia’s latest action, by contrast, concerns his decision years later to travel overseas and join Ukrainian forces fighting Moscow’s invasion.
