Newly inaugurated President Viktor Yushchenko has told a vast crowd of supporters in Kiev's main square on Sunday he aims to secure Ukraine a fully-fledged place in a united Europe. "Our way to the future is the way of a united Europe. We, along with the people of Europe, belong to one civilisation. We share similar values," Yushchenko told hundreds of thousands in Independence Square after his swearing-in in parliament. In his 20-minute address he made no direct mention of Russia, where he meets Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Monday on his first foreign trip abroad before launching a tour of western and central Europe. But he said Ukraine would act strictly in its own interests. "Our place is in the European union," Yushchenko said, his wife standing with their five children nearby. "We are no longer on the edge of Europe. We are situated in the centre of Europe. "Ukraine will not be a buffer zone or a testing ground for anyone else," he said.