Conor Kennedy, the son of US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the grandson of the late US senator Robert F. Kennedy, is back in the spotlight for a reason far removed from his famous family or his brief romance with Taylor Swift.The 32-year-old has been placed on Russia’s international wanted list after a Moscow court authorised his arrest in absentia over his reported service with Ukrainian forces. Russian authorities accuse him of acting as a mercenary, a charge that carries a potential seven to 10-year prison sentence if he is captured.So, who exactly is Conor Kennedy, and how did the Kennedy heir end up at the centre of a Russia-Ukraine controversy?Conor Kennedy comes from one of America’s best-known political familiesConor is one of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s children with his late former wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy. Mary died by suicide in 2012, aged 52, while she and RFK Jr. were going through a divorce and custody battle.Conor grew up surrounded by one of America’s most recognisable political dynasties. His grandfather was Robert F. Kennedy, while his great-uncle was former US President John F. Kennedy.But Conor has also had a life that has occasionally put him in the headlines on his own.
He has been arrested before
Kennedy was arrested in 2013 along with dozens of other protesters during a demonstration outside the White House against the Keystone XL pipeline.Then, in 2017, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour following a fight outside a nightclub in Aspen, Colorado. His family said at the time that he had been defending a gay friend who was being harassed.As part of a plea agreement, he received a six-month deferred sentence, was ordered to write an apology letter and pay a $500 fine.
Then there was Taylor Swift
For many people, however, Conor is best known as Taylor Swift’s former boyfriend.The two briefly dated in the summer of 2012. Swift was 22 at the time, while Kennedy was 18 and still in high school.Their relationship became tabloid news almost immediately. Swift was photographed spending time with the Kennedy family around the Fourth of July, and the pair were later seen getting pizza, going sailing and attending a Kennedy family wedding.Swift was also photographed with Conor at the grave of his mother, Mary, where she comforted him.Their romance didn’t last long, but it has remained one of the more closely remembered celebrity relationships from Swift’s early years.
Why is Conor Kennedy on Russia’s wanted list?
The latest controversy dates back to something Kennedy did in 2022.After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kennedy secretly travelled to Ukraine and joined the country’s International Legion. He later revealed that he had spent time fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region.Kennedy had no previous military experience. In an Instagram post after returning home, he said he had been deeply moved by what was happening in Ukraine and wanted to help. He also wrote that he was willing to die there.He kept the trip largely secret from his family. Kennedy said he told only one person in Ukraine where he was and gave his real name to just one person there because he didn’t want his family and friends to worry or to receive special treatment because of his surname.He eventually returned to the US after spending roughly two and a half months in Ukraine and resumed his studies at Georgetown University.
What does Russia accuse him of?
Russian authorities have accused Kennedy of participating as a mercenary in an armed conflict. The Basmanny District Court of Moscow authorised his arrest in absentia on August 12, and an appeal by his legal team was unsuccessful.Under the Russian charge cited in reports, Kennedy could face seven to 10 years in prison if he is detained.He is not the only foreign volunteer to have been targeted in similar Russian proceedings. Reports say citizens from countries including the US, UK, Sweden, Colombia and Georgia have also faced such cases.Kennedy’s service in Ukraine was not a secret by the time Russia acted. He had publicly discussed it himself years earlier.
What is Conor Kennedy doing now?
After returning from Ukraine, Kennedy continued his education and pursued a career in law. He has largely stayed away from the kind of celebrity spotlight that followed his relationship with Swift.His personal life has also moved on. Kennedy has been in a relationship with Brazilian singer-songwriter Giulia Be, and the pair announced their engagement in 2024.Today, however, it is his decision to fight in Ukraine – not his famous surname or his past relationship with Swift—that has put him back in the headlines.A former Kennedy family socialite and Taylor Swift’s teenage ex, Conor Kennedy has now become the subject of an international legal dispute linked to a war he chose to join four years ago.
