A Moscow court has issued an arrest warrant for Conor Kennedy, a 32-year-old grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, for his involvement as a soldier in Ukraine's International Legion. The Basmanny District Court in Moscow accused Kennedy of engaging in military action against Russia as a "foreign mercenary" for the Ukrainian Ground Forces.
If apprehended in Russia, Kennedy could face a prison sentence of seven to 10 years. His defense team attempted to appeal the charge, but an appeals court upheld the district court's decision. The trial was reportedly held behind closed doors.
Kennedy served for two months in the International Legion in 2022. He shared on Instagram that he informed only one person in the U.S. of his location and one person in Ukraine of his real name, wanting to avoid his family worrying or being treated differently. "I had no prior military experience and wasn't a great shot, but I could carry heavy things and learned fast. I was also willing to die there," he wrote.
His Instagram post included an image of him wearing a tactical vest with the phrase "I am ready to meet my maker" handwritten in Ukrainian on the back.
In 2022, Kennedy told his father, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and stepmother, Cheryl Hines, that he was leaving his job at a Los Angeles law firm to "do something else instead." His father later observed credit card charges from Poland and Ukraine, according to People. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated that while his son's views on the war did not align with his own, Conor was "arguing vociferously for the U.S. intervention and he didn’t want to be one of these people supporting a war and sitting on the sideline."
Kennedy concluded his Instagram post with the statement: "This war will shape the fate of democracy in this century."
According to the Independent Ukrainian News Agency UNIAN, other foreign nationals face similar charges in Russia, including U.S. citizen Tracy James Ingram Asbill, British citizen Joseph Richard Ryan Shorney, Colombian citizen Ramirez Ivan Tiku Dario, and Czech citizen Jan Trcka.