MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/. The Basmanny District Court of Moscow has authorized the arrest in absentia of US citizen Conor Kennedy, accused of acting as a mercenary for the Ukrainian armed forces. As a TASS correspondent reports from the Moscow City Court, Kennedy has been placed on the international wanted list.

"The petition of the investigative body shall be granted," the corresponding ruling of the trial court stated. The American's defense disagreed with this decision and appealed it. According to a TASS correspondent, the appeals court upheld the district court's decision, and the trial itself was held behind closed doors.

Kennedy is charged with committing a crime under Part 3 of Article 353 of the Russian Criminal Code (participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict or military action). Under this article, the US citizen faces 7 to 10 years in prison. Conor Kennedy is the grand-nephew of former US President John F. Kennedy and the grandson of former US Attorney General Robert Kennedy.

Previously, the Kennedy family member himself said on his social media page that he returned from Ukraine in October 2022 after participating in combat operations in the Kharkov area as part of the International Legion. He participated in combat operations on the side of the Ukrainian forces incognito.

Other mercenaries

Furthermore, Russian courts issued similar rulings against members of the Ukrainian International Legion, including 37-year-old American Tracy James Ingram Asbill (call sign Mickey); British drone operator Joseph Richard Ryan Shorney (call sign Jax); 46-year-old Swedish sergeant and military instructor Anna Caroline Alexandra Nordengrip (call sign Alex), who fought in a unit of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the 9th Army Corps of the Ukrainian armed forces; Karel Cherel-Salzburg (call sign Cris), who fled to France; Serb Nenad Arsic; 39-year-old Czech recruiter Jan Trcka; Georgian mercenary Akaki Murachashvili; 32-year-old Estonian assault trooper Oleg Kolevatov; 38-year-old Colombian shooter Ivan Tico Dario Ramirez; and other foreign mercenaries. All of them have been arrested in absentia and placed on the international wanted list for mercenary activities on the side of the Ukrainian military.

All court decisions against the foreigners have entered into legal force.