An article in the Kyiv Post suggests that Heorhiy Kirpa's death reported yesterday could be connected to another death of a high-ranking official in a party aligned with losing candidate Viktor Yanukovych.

Yuriy Lyakh, chairman of the Ukrainian Credit Bank founded by Presidential Administration chief Viktor Medvedchuk, died on Dec. 3 after allegedly using an envelope opener to inflict fatal neck wounds. ...

In a live televised interview on Dec. 27 with television station Era, Our Ukraine deputy Mykola Tomenko said the deaths could impede investigations into illegal activities related to the 5-month presidential election campaign. Tomenko added that Kirpa and Lyakh could have served as key witnesses in investigations into financial wrongdoing by President Leonid Kuchma�s regime.

On Dec. 28, Tomenko called upon President Leonid Kuchma to provide protection for three figures that have been influential in recent years: Medvedchuk, former head of the Presidential Administration's department of affairs Ihor Bakai, and Volodymyr Satsiuk, former deputy head of the State Security Service (SBU).

Tonight we learnd that Bakai has been relieved of his duties and is reported to have fled the country. Satsiuk was sacked ten days ago. I'm guessing he left no forwarding address either, given what's happened to his compatriots. Satsiuk, you may recall, was the person reported to have hosted the dinner where Viktor Yushchenko was allegedly poisoned.

A report on Maidan details some of the possible abuse of Kirpa's position with the state railway.

UPDATE: I'm glad I didn't read this with coffee:

I've heard reports that Kirpa died from multiple gunshot wounds. In which case, these suicide reports will be like something from the files of Police Squad -- "He was stabbed in the back 28 times. The worst case of suicide I've ever seen. . ."