( dpa ) - US President George Bush arrived in Ukraine late Monday evening for a short state visit prior to an upcoming NATO summit.
Bush was scheduled for meetings on Tuesday with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a formal lunch with Yushchenko and the two presidents' spouses, and visits to a Kiev church and school, before traveling to Bucharest Romania for the summit.
Both Yushchenko and Tymoshenko were hoping Bush's support would convince the Atlantic Alliance to approve a programme setting forth a roadmap for the former Soviet republic to obtain NATO membership.
The idea of Ukraine joining NATO is opposed by two-thirds of Ukrainians, major NATO members Germany and France, and Ukraine's giant northern neighbour Russia.
NATO members at the Bucharest summit from Wednesday to Friday are expected to study the idea of Ukrainian membership, but approval of a roadmap for the Ukrainians is unclear.
Massive security, the tightest seen in Ukraine in decades, is scheduled during Bush's 18-hour visit.