Secretary Clinton flies to Ukraine this morning, after paying her respects to the family of late Sen. Robert Byrd. While in the former Soviet republic, she'll work to reassure the country's leaders regarding their concerns over the "reset" in U.S.-Russia relations.

At least, that's how Agence France-Presse put it today. On the other hand, Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon said otherwise at June 29's special briefing on Clinton's travel:

I wouldn't see it [reassurance] as the purpose of the trip. We don't think … that anybody should have any concerns about the new and better relationship with Russia.… But to the extent that anyone has concerns about our Russia policy, we're happy to discuss them and … it will be a good opportunity for the secretary to explain how we're thinking about the reset, how we're thinking about European security, regional security.  

Maybe reassurance isn't the purpose of the trip and maybe nobody should be concerned about warmer U.S.-Russia ties (which don't seem to have taken much of a hit from the spy-ring case), but the reality is that many people are indeed concerned and thus Clinton will probably be doing a lot of reassuring.

What else will Clinton be doing in Ukraine? Gordon said at the briefing that Clinton will be focusing on the U.S.-Ukraine "strategic partnership" and that she'll be:

following up on President Obama's meeting with President [Viktor] Yanukovych at the Nuclear Security Summit, where Ukraine took the historic decision to get rid of all of its highly enriched uranium.… [T]hat decision is being implemented as we speak, and the secretary will have a chance to follow up on how that is proceeding.

Among other things, Clinton will also meet with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and hold a town-hall meeting at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.

(In the photo above, Clinton shakes hands with Ukraine's then-Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko on Dec. 9, 2009, in Washington. Kostyantyn Gryshchenko is now the current foreign minister.)

Secretary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were on the phone yesterday discussing the situation in Kyrgyzstan, where fighting between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks has resulted in an estimated 2,000 deaths and almost 400,000 ethnic Uzbeks fleeing to or across the border with Uzbekistan. The country still plans to hold a June 27 referendum on a new constitution, despite a state of emergency in some regions.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in a statement yesterday:

[Clinton and Lavrov] agreed that the issue of the upcoming referendum is the sovereign decision of Kyrgyzstan to make and agreed to encourage the authorities of Kyrgyzstan to conduct it according to international standards with the monitoring support of OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] and others. The ministers also discussed coordination of U.S. and Russian humanitarian assistance and other support to Kyrgyzstan to help its authorities restore security, stability, and reconciliation among all citizens of Kyrgyzstan.

(In the photo above, Kyrgyz refugees sit under their tent on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border  on June 19.)

It has been a sad time in Poland with the death of the Polish president and much of the country's leadership in Saturday's plane crash. That day, Secretary Clinton offered condolences for the people of Poland, and among her remarks she said:

The Polish people have endured more than their share of sorrow, but they have always shown resilience and resolve in the face of adversity -- and I know they will pull together in solidarity to grieve this loss.

Above, Clinton signs the condolence book at the Polish Embassy in Washington yesterday as Polish Ambassador Robert Kupiecki looks on.

The Polish delegation that died in the crash had been on its way to Russia to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, in which members of the Soviet secret police killed more than 20,000 captured Polish military officers. On Wednesday of last week, Clinton's remarks about the 70th anniversary included the following:

This meeting of the current generation of Polish and Russian leaders is a sign of a much better present and of the hope for an increasingly bright and peaceful future. We welcome the strengthening of the Russian-Polish relationship this mutual tribute symbolizes, and hope that it promises the continued growth of cooperation in Europe .

It's so sad that Saturday's meeting never happened.

Update, April 12, 2010, 12:10 p.m.: Clinton's remarks at the signing of the condolence book include:

So Mr. Ambassador, we Americans stand with you now and forever. Not only the many proud Polish Americans who grieve with you today, but every American who admires what Poland has built, admires what Poland stands for, admires the Polish people. 

Yesterday morning Secretary Clinton had a phone conversation with her Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (seen above with Clinton in March 2009), and urged him to "push hard" on a new U.S.-Russia arms-reduction treaty so that it can be finished in the next couple of weeks, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said at yesterday's press briefing.

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1), signed in 1991, expired Dec. 5, and Russia and the United States have been negotiating a new treaty, which is supposed to be close to completion. This new one should reduce operationally deployed nuclear warheads from 1,770 to 2,200 on each side to 1,500 to 1,675.

New treaty? Sounds like Clinton and team Obama are making headway in their efforts to "reset" relations with Russia.

•Secretary Clinton will be in Germany next month to attend a "freedom party" to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Giant dominoes will tumble to symbolize the fall.

•Clinton met with Iraq Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, above, this afternoon in Washington.

•A Washington Post editorial commends Clinton for promoting democracy in Russia.

•Clinton pens an op-ed on world hunger and food security.

•Clinton unveiled the Sudan policy review with Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Scott Gration, the special envoy for Sudan.

•In London, The Times reports that Clinton was snubbed by Putin when she was in Russia last week to push sanctions against Iran.

•Clinton got a "mixed bag" of diplomatic results in Russia last week, writes FP Shadow Government blogger David J. Kramer.

Photo: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton hasn't been shy about pushing for human rights and openness in Russia. Yesterday she met with human rights activists and opposition journalists in Spaso House, the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Russia. Today, she did an interview on Ekho Moskvy radio (great photos here) in which she continued to press for human rights.

During the interview (transcript here), she said:

I have no doubt in my mind that democracy is in Russia's best interests, that respecting human rights, an independent judiciary, a free media are in the interests of building a strong, stable political system that provides a platform for broadly shared prosperity. We will continue to say that and we will continue to support those who also stand for those values."

Referring to the killing of journalists in Russia, which she discussed at Spaso House, Clinton said:

I mentioned the killings of journalists, and I said that this is a matter of grave concern not just to the United States, but to the people of Russia, and not just to the activists, but to people who worry that unsolved killings are a very serious challenge to order and to the fair functioning of society, and that we did not believe that enough was being done to make sure that no one had impunity from prosecution who might have been involved in any such criminal acts."

It's great that Clinton spoke up for human rights and didn't let realpolitik get in the way, as some accuse her of doing in China in February.

Photo: Valeriy Yevseyev, U.S. State Deptartment

Later today, Clinton heads to Europe, where she'll visit the following places and do the following things:

Zurich, Switzerland: She will attend the signing of two protocols between Turkey and Armenia that pave the way toward normalization of their relations.

London: Clinton will meet with senior British officials to discuss important issues such as Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Dublin, Ireland: She will reaffirm the United States' commitment to Ireland during meetings with senior Irish officials.

Belfast, Northern Ireland: Clinton will emphasize the United States' support for political progress and economic recovery in the area.

Moscow: As part of her efforts to reset relations with Russia, she'll meet with President Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss a successor agreement to START, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. They'll also discuss Afghanistan, Iran, the Middle East, and North Korea.

Kazan, Russia: Clinton will visit Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, to talk with local officials and religious leaders about promoting tolerance and interfaith dialogue. The city has a large Muslim population, and yesterday, in this clumsy exchange, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Kazan "really shows that the Russian Federation is a multiethnic country."

Bon voyage, Secretary Clinton!

Photo: BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images

•Secretary Clinton was interviewed by David Gregory for the full hour of Meet the Press yesterday, and she did an outstanding job. She answered each question clearly, intelligently, and -- of course -- diplomatically. For example, when asked whether she would be betraying the democracy movement in Iran by engaging and negotiating with the regime it aims to overthrow, Clinton responded:

We have negotiated with many governments who we did not believe represented the will of their people. Look at all the negotiations that went on with the Soviet Union. Look at the breakthrough and subsequent negotiations with communist China. That's what you do in diplomacy. You don't get to choose the people; that's up to the internal dynamics within a society. But clearly, we would hope better for the Iranian people. … Yet, we also know that whoever is in charge in Iran is going to be making decisions that will affect the security of the region and the world."

•Clinton also engaged in a bit of damage control after Vice President Joe Biden's eyebrow-raising comments that Russia was a country with a "withering economy" and was "clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable." Clinton told Gregory, "We view Russia as a great power." She added:

What we're seeing here is the beginning of the resetting of that relationship, which I have been deeply involved in. I will be co-chairing a presidential commission along with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. We'll be following up on what our two presidents said in Moscow. And the Russians know that, you know, we have continuing questions about some of their policies, and they have continuing questions about some of ours."

•Clinton, above, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are leading the U.S. delegation at the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue today and tommorow in Washington. Clinton opened the talks by saying that China and the United States "are laying brick by brick the foundation of a stronger relationship" and that it is time to transition from "a multipolar world to a multipartner world."

•Clinton will be visiting Nigeria Aug. 10 to 12. She'll also be visiting four other African countries -- Kenya (the birthplace of President Obama's father), and tentatively Angola, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- Dow Jones Newswires reports.

Photos, from top to bottom: Meet the Press, Alex Wong/Getty Images

Unfortunately, due to her broken elbow, Secretary Clinton won't be traveling to Russia next week with President Obama. Last week she was unable to go to Greece and Italy as planned. Her late-July trip to India still seems to be in place, though.

This fractured elbow must be quite painful -- and more serious than originally thought. On the day after Clinton's fall, Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley told reporters, "[M]y impression is it was a fairly simple, straightforward fracture."

On Tuesday, however, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters, "She had a very serious break in her elbow. … She's energetic, she's fully engaged, but we need to make sure that she heals and then can get back to a full schedule where she can come in every day."

Since her June 17 fall, Clinton has worked from home a lot and has had six days with no public appointments on her schedule. Yesterday, though, was an exception. Shaking with her left hand, she met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, as seen above. Additionally, at yesterday's swearing-in ceremony for U.S. ambassador to Ireland, Daniel Rooney (owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers), she joked, "I came off the injured reserve list in order to officiate at this ceremony."

Please send healing thoughts in the direction of Clinton's right elbow!

Photo: TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images

As mentioned yesterday, Secretary Clinton is leading the U.S. delegation at a donors conference on Haiti today. She also has a couple of other meetings later in the day as well, including one with the Georgian foreign minister, whom FP interviewed in January.

Her official schedule:

7:45 a.m. Breakfast with Vice President Biden

9:00 a.m. Attend Haiti Donors Conference at the Inter-American Development Bank, Enrique V. Iglesias Conference Center, 1330 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.

3:45 p.m. Bilateral with His Excellency Grigol Vashadze, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.
 
4:15 p.m. Meeting with State Councilor Liu Yandong [another woman, by the way] of the People’s Republic of China.

I couldn't find any Getty photos of Clinton in Haiti, but here's the most recent one I could find of her in the Caribbean. It was during the presidential primaries last year, when she campaigned in Puerto Rico.

Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) waves to supporters from a truck as she drives through the streets May 31, 2008, in Cataño, Puerto Rico. Clinton is campaigning in Puerto Rico ahead of the caucus to be held on Sunday [June 1].

And while I was searching Getty Images for Hillary-in-the-Caribbean photos, I came upon this old romantic one from the archives:

U.S. President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton dance on the beach of Magens Bay, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, on Jan. 4, 1998, shortly after taking a swim. The president and his family concluded their vacation on the tropical island and are returning to Washington.

Photos, top to bottom: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images