Oleksiy Ivanovych Kovalov ( uk, Олексій Іванович Ковальов, ; 19 January 1989 – 28 August 2022) was a Ukrainian politician. A few months before his death, he had started
collaborating
Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Mos ...
with Russia during the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
.
Biography
Kovalov was elected in the
2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election
Snap elections to the Ukrainian parliament were held on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, these elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolv ...
as a member of the
Servant of the People
Servant of the People (SN; uk, Слуга народу, Sluha narodu, ) is a liberal, centrist, pro-European political party in Ukraine.
It was formed in late 2017 and was officially registered on 31 March 2018 on the basis of the previously ...
party after winning electoral district (
first-past-the-post electoral system
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
) 186 (centred around
Hola Prystan
Hola Prystan ( uk, Го́ла При́стань, ) is a city in Skadovsk Raion, Kherson Oblast, southern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of the Hola Prystan urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It has a population of
The Konk ...
) with 35.12% of the votes. He entered Ukraine's national parliament, the
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
in August 2019.
Two months into the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, at the beginning of April 2022 Kovalov stated that he was in Russian occupied Hola Prystan "to work in his electoral district." He did not report to parliament where he was or what he was doing.
On 28 April, the Servant of the People faction announced that it had suspended Kovalov's membership in the party and the faction. Kovalov was then expelled from the Servant of the People party on 3 May 2022.
On 8 June 2022, Kovalov admitted on his
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
page to
collaborating
Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Mos ...
with the Russian occupiers in the
Kherson Oblast
Kherson Oblast ( uk, Херсо́нська о́бласть, translit=Khersónsʹka óblastʹ, ), also known as Khersonshchyna ( uk, Херсо́нщина, ), is an oblast (province) in southern Ukraine, currently claimed and partly occupied ...
.
On 22 June 2022, it was reported that Kovalov had been killed in Kherson Oblast at the age of 33. However, on 30 June 2022, Russian media released a video of Kovalov in the hospital, in which he accused the
Ukrainian Security Service
The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main Intelligence agency, intelligence and security age ...
Oleksandr Kornienko
Oleksandr Kornienko ( ua, Олександр Сергійович Корнієнко; born 12 May 1984) is a Ukrainian politician, First Deputy Chief of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, a former Head of the Servant of the People political party. ...
stated that Kovalov's mandate could be removed only after a court ruling because the
Ukrainian Constitution
The Constitution of Ukraine ( uk, Конституція України, translit=Konstytutsiia Ukrainy) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament ...
does not include collaborationism as grounds for depriving an MP of their mandate.
According to Ukrainian authorities at the beginning of July, Kovalov assumed the position of deputy created by the Russian occupying administration, "head of the government of Kherson Oblast".
On 28 August 2022, several Telegram channels reported the murder of Kovalov. The following day the
Investigative Committee of Russia
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Следственный комитет Российской Федерации) has since January 2011 been the main federal investigating authority in Russia. Its name (' ...
confirmed Kovalov's death. According to them, Kovalev died as a result of a gunshot wound during an attack at his place of residence in Zaliznyi Port on 28 August 2022. A woman who lived with Kovalev reportedly was also killed.
On 7 October 2022, the Russian
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
posthumously
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death
* ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987
* ''Posthumous'' (E ...
awarded him with the Order of Courage for "dedication and courage".
Since no official death certificate could have been received by parliament, necessary for his termination of office as a
People's Deputy of Ukraine
People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights ma ...
, Kovalyov will technically stay a member of the Verkhovna Rada until the
next Ukrainian parliamentary election
According to the Electoral Code of Ukraine, the next Ukrainian parliamentary election should be held on the last Sunday of October of the fifth year of authority of the parliament, if snap elections are not held.To exchange Medvedchuk for defenders of Mariupol, the Criminal Code was changed - Osadchuk
Civil movement "Chesno"
Chesno ( uk, Чесно, lit=honestly, fairly) is a Ukrainian public campaign that emerged late 2011 to advance a fair election process. It is widely known for its critical analysis and evaluation of politicians and the Verkhovna Rada (parliame ...