Kovalsky

Col. Kovalsky
Rank	Colonel
Affiliation	Military
Equipment	Berill-5M armoured suit Tunder S14 30 9x39mm PAB-9 Fora-12 20 9x18mm +P+ 2 F1 grenades Binoculars Random amounts of drugs and food

Colonel Kovalsky is the commander of Operation Fairway in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.

Call of Pripyat

Colonel Kovalsky is the leader of the STINGRAY group and one of STINGRAY 1's crew. After the helicopter crashed near the minefield in Yanov, his crew met a stalker named Guide who led them safely to Pripyat. He gives the player all of Pripyat's main quests as well as few optional quests. He seems to be a brave leader - despite the obvious failure of the operation he still pushes for Pripyat when the opportunity presents itself, and after taking over the Laundromat he regularly sends out patrols into the Monolith controlled city. In the final mission during the Pripyat Evacuation, he puts his life on the line and fights alongside his men with his Tunder S14.

Kovalsky is shown to value life more than his profession, as evidenced by the fact that he allows the stalkers Vano, Strider, Garry and Strelok (and possibly Zulu, had he not refused to stay with Major Degtyarev after he found out his affiliation to the military) to stay in the Laundromat along him and the rest of the stranded unit - eventually also letting Strelok be evacuated. One of his main concerns during all the quests he gives is the fate and safety of the men he sends out.

Fates

Colonel Kovalsky has 2 endings depending on his survival:

Kovalsky as he appears in game

He survives the evacuation

Kovalsky was questioned by the military high command about Operation Fairway's failure. After a number of investigations and with the top brass unable to make him the scapegoat of the failure, he was given an honorable discharge from the military.

He dies during the evacuation

Kovalsky is killed during the evacuation. He is remembered only by a few faded photographs to remind Ukraine about the sacrifices he and his many men made to understand the zone.

Trivia

• It is strange that Kovalsky, a Ukrainian Army officer, can be observed wielding a Tunder S14, which is based on a real assault rifle named the OTs-14 Groza rifle. Said assault rifle saw rather limited service in Russian special forces and probably none in Ukrainian ones. One could argue however, he may have picked up one during his time in the zone after losing his original rifle.