(4 Sep 2008) SHOTLIST
1. Mid of airport
2. Mid of US and Ukrainian flags
3. Wide of US plane taxiing
4. Guard marching towards planes
5. Various of US vice president Dick Cheney and wife coming down plane stairs
6. Cheney and wife walking towards car
7. Wide of plane and car
8. Motorcade leaving
STORYLINE
US Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Ukraine on Thursday in a show of support for its Western-leaning leaders following Russia's war last month with the fellow former Soviet republic - Georgia.
Cheney flew to Kiev from Tbilisi, where he earlier denounced Russia's "illegitimate, unilateral attempt" to redraw Georgia's northern borders by force.
The trip by one of the US administration's most hawkish figures and a longtime critic of Russia, signalled to Moscow that the US will continue cultivating close ties with Georgia and its neighbours even after Russia showed it was willing to use military force against its neighbours.
Before Georgia, Cheney also stopped in oil-rich Azerbaijan.
There are concerns the Kremlin might next seek to squeeze Ukraine as it tries to reclaim dominance in the former Soviet Union.
The strategically located country of 46 (m) million is highly appealing to Russia, with its pipelines that carry Russian gas to European consumers and its Black Sea port that is home to a key Russian naval base.
Yushchenko, who has swung his support behind Georgia, has objected to Russia using its ships stationed in the Ukrainian base in the war, thus dragging Ukraine into the conflict.
Since the war in Georgia last month, Russia has boldly asserted it has what President Dmitry Medvedev called "privileged interests" in its sphere of influence, which includes the former Soviet states in the South Caucasus.
Cheney's visit comes at an awkward time for President Viktor Yushchenko.
The governing coalition, made up of his party and that of his 2004 Orange Revolution partner - now Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko - has collapsed, dashing hopes for quick progress and integration with the European Union.
Yushchenko and Tymoshenko have turned into bitter rivals before the 2010 presidential election, in which they are likely to compete against each other, blocking each other's policies and stalling much-needed reform.
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