Key Takeaways
- Conor Kennedy, Taylor Swift’s ex and son of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been placed on Russia’s international most-wanted list and faces seven to ten years in prison there for allegedly fighting as a mercenary with Ukrainian forces after the 2022 invasion.
- Kennedy secretly joined Ukraine’s International Legion despite having no prior military experience, telling almost no one his real identity and later writing that he was “deeply moved” by the war and that he “liked being a soldier” because “life is simple” and the rewards for courage are “substantial.”
- RFK Jr., who disagrees with his son on U.S. involvement in the war, said he was proud that Conor acted on his convictions, while Conor has since returned to the U.S. to resume law school and move on with his personal life beyond his brief, much-publicized 2012 romance with Swift.
One of Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriends has landed on a most-wanted list—and this one has nothing to do with breakup songs.
According to People, Conor Kennedy, the 32-year-old son of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been placed on Russia’s international wanted list over his decision to fight alongside Ukrainian forces following Russia’s 2022 invasion. A Moscow court authorized Kennedy’s arrest in absentia on August 12, accusing him of participating in the war as a mercenary.
The charge carries a potential prison sentence of seven to 10 years in Russia if Kennedy is convicted.
Kennedy’s path from a highly photographed summer romance with Swift to an international arrest warrant is an unusual one even by Kennedy-family standards. More than a decade before Russian authorities came looking for him, he became tabloid-famous in 2012 when he dated Swift, then 22, while he was 18.
Their relationship lasted only a few months, with Swift spending part of that summer around the Kennedy family in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. She had already developed a relationship with members of the political dynasty, including Conor’s grandmother Ethel Kennedy, whose relationship with Robert F. Kennedy later inspired Swift’s Red track “Starlight.”
By October 2012, Swift and Kennedy had split. A decade later, his name resurfaced for an entirely different reason.
Kennedy secretly traveled to Ukraine in 2022 and joined the International Legion despite having no previous military experience. He initially kept the decision from almost everyone in his life, including his father and stepmother, actress Cheryl Hines.
“Like many people, I was deeply moved by what I saw happening in Ukraine,” Kennedy wrote after returning home. “I wanted to help.”
Kennedy said he gave only one person in Ukraine his real identity and told just one person back home where he had gone because he didn't want his family worrying—or his famous surname affecting how he was treated.
“I liked being a soldier, more than I had expected,” he said of his experience. “It is scary. But life is simple, and the rewards for finding courage and doing good are substantial.”
RFK Jr. later said his son had essentially “talked his way” into a Ukrainian military unit despite his lack of combat experience. Kennedy spent roughly two and a half months in the country before returning to the United States and resuming his law studies at Georgetown University.
His father said the two didn't agree on U.S. involvement in the war, but supported his son's willingness to act on his convictions.
“I’m very proud of this. Of my son,” RFK Jr. said in 2022, explaining that Conor told him, “Dad, this is what you taught me to do: to stand up for what I believe in.”
Kennedy's life has continued moving well beyond his brief Swift chapter. He later became engaged to Brazilian singer Giulia Be, while Swift married Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden on July 3.
