KIEV, Jan. 17 ??“ Yevhen Kushnariov, a prominent lawmaker and an ally of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, died on Wednesday of gunshot wounds apparently received as a result of a hunting incident, officials said.

Yanukovych, who learned of the death while visiting Turkey, cut short his official visit and returned to Ukraine, underscoring political impact of Kushnariov??™s death. Kushnariov was 55.

Kushnariov was the leading spokesman at the Regions Party, the pro-government group, and has been frequently pushing for an aggressive line in the government??™s battle with pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko.

Kushnariov is also thought to have had close links with the Kremlin. These links have strengthened after the Orange Revolution, a pro-democracy uprising in Ukraine in November 2004.

???It??™s really an irreparable loss,??? Konstantin Zatulin, the head of the Moscow-based Institute for the CIS Countries, a pro-Kremlin think tank, said. ???Being a patriot of Ukraine, he was a true friend of Russia.???

Kushnariov managed election campaign of the Regions Party, a group led by Yanukovych, helping the party to collect the biggest number of votes in March 2006 and to eventually form the pro-Russian government in August 2006.

Born in Kharkiv, Kushnariov was one of few senior members of the Regions Party not directly affiliated with Donetsk, the stronghold of Yanukovych and other party officials.

???Without him, the Regions Party will become more Donetsk-focused, losing a considerable part of electorate elsewhere in the process,??? Andriy Okara, a political scientist, said.

Kushnariov died of a heart failure at an intensive care unit in a hospital in Izium, the Khariv region, a day after apparently coming under friendly fire during hunting.

The wounds were so bad that his kidney failed on Tuesday after a 6-hour surgery, while other organs had been also badly affected. The patient??™s condition did not allow airlifting him to a hospital in Germany as had been originally planned.

A group of German doctors was flown to Izum on a special charter plane, but the group had arrived too late, according to media reports.

Police has been investigating the shooting incident, but no names have been officially disclosed.

Kushnariov and a group of 10 hunters have apparently spotted a wolf and opened fire. One of the bullets had apparently critically wounded Kushnariov, officials have said. (nr/ez)