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Vote to Resume U.S. Military Aid Is Met With Relief in Ukraine

Much-needed munitions like artillery shells could start arriving relatively quickly, but experts say it could take weeks before U.S. assistance has a direct impact on the war.

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By Marc Santora

Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

The Ukrainian lieutenant was at a firing position on the eastern front, commanding an artillery unit relying on American-provided M777 howitzers and other big guns, as U.S. lawmakers gathered in Washington to decide if his cannons would be forced to go silent for lack of ammunition.

But when the lieutenant returned to his base on Saturday night, he got the news that he and millions of Ukrainians had been praying to hear.

“I had just entered the building after a shift change when the guys informed me that the aid package for Ukraine had finally been approved by Congress,” said the lieutenant, who is identified only by his first name, Oleksandr, in line with military protocol. “We hope this aid package will reach us as soon as possible.”

The decision by American lawmakers to resume military assistance after months of costly delay was greeted with a collective sigh of relief and an outpouring of gratitude across a battered and bloodied Ukraine. It may have been late in coming, soldiers and civilians said, but American support meant more than bullets and bombs.

It offered something equally important: hope.

Immediately after the vote passed in Congress, Ukrainian citizens took to social media to offer thanks and express joy, posting American flag memes blending Ukrainian imagery with American symbols like the Statue of Liberty.

“I have tears in my eyes,” Anton Gerashchenko, the founder of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, a research group, said in a message. “So much suffering, so much pain. So many lost friends and wonderful people in these horrible years of war. Now there is hope to save more lives of those who are still alive.”

The $60 billion military assistance package approved by the House is expected to be voted on by the Senate and signed by President Biden as early as Tuesday. The Pentagon has said it could resume sending weapons to Ukraine within days through a well-established logistics network.

While the Pentagon has not released details of what will be included in the first assistance package, the United States has provided the bulk of the ammunition most desperately needed by Ukrainian forces, including shells for artillery and precision rockets for longer-distance strikes.

Ukrainian officials have said it will also probably help replenish Ukraine’s short- and medium-range air defense systems, including missiles capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles that are being used to devastating effect on Ukraine’s energy grid.

Some items, like artillery shells, could start arriving relatively quickly, but both Ukrainian commanders and military analysts cautioned that it would take weeks before the U.S. assistance started to have a direct impact on the fight.

“The frontline situation will therefore likely continue to deteriorate in that time, particularly if Russian forces increase their attacks to take advantage of the limited window before the arrival of new U.S. aid,” analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research group, wrote over the weekend .

Lieutenant Oleksandr said the Russians had appeared determined recently to throw as many resources into the battle as quickly as possible to take advantage of Ukraine’s depleted arsenal.

“The Russians spare nothing, neither air bombs nor artillery,” he said. “They can fire up to two or three Lancets for every one of our cannons in a day, where one Lancet costs more than the cannon itself,” he said, referring to one of Russia’s most sophisticated drones.

Franz-Stefan Gady, a consulting senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that even with U.S. assistance, the air defense situation “will remain challenging for many months to come.” Renewed U.S. assistance, however, will allow European nations to ramp up their own arms production, he said.

Mick Ryan, a retired Australian Army major general who is a fellow at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based research group, wrote that replenishing air defenses and artillery would be the top priorities for Ukraine but that the bill allowed for other critical and less visible support. That includes “spare parts for US tanks and armored vehicles, drones, mortars, radios, engineering equipment and the panoply of equipment required on the modern battlefield,” he wrote on his Substack page .

Since American aid stopped flowing into Ukraine this year, Russia has been able to seize more than 360 square kilometers, or about 139 square miles, of land , according to the Institute for the Study of War.

As Ukraine was forced to shift to defense, the Russian arsenal has been bolstered by the delivery of missiles and drones from Iran and North Korea , while support from China has helped Moscow mitigate the impact of sanctions, helping the Kremlin to convert its economy to a wartime footing.

Russia has also managed to replace the more than 315,000 troops who have been killed or wounded in battle, according to American officials.

The Russian Army is now 15 percent larger than it was when it invaded Ukraine, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the head of U.S. European Command, said in testimony to Congress before Saturday’s vote.

Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is setting the stage for a larger offensive in the late spring or early summer.

While the Russians have so far failed to exploit Ukraine’s deficit in both men and arms to achieve a major breakthrough, military analysts warned they may still be able to make significant advances in the coming weeks.

Russian forces continue to advance west of the city of Avdiivka, around Lieutenant Oleksandr’s firing position on Saturday. They are also pounding the strategically important hilltop fortress of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine.

If the Kremlin’s forces can seize the important high ground in the area, an agglomeration of the largest cities in the Donbas region still under Ukrainian control would be threatened.

At the same time, Russia continued to hit towns and cities across the country with long-range drone and missile strikes, leveling houses, port infrastructure and energy facilities.

Ukraine’s allies have said they are racing to find more sophisticated air defense systems like the American-made Patriots located around Europe to help Kyiv, but Ukrainians expect Moscow to try to do as much damage as it can before those systems arrive.

As they have done day after day for more than two years, rescue workers from Odesa on the Black Sea to Sumy near Ukraine’s northern border with Russia raced to pull people from the rubble of bombed-out buildings as the House voted on Saturday.

“But this day is still a little different,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his Saturday night address to the nation. “Today, we received the long-awaited decision: the American support package we’ve been fighting for so hard.”

Mr. Zelensky said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the aid “will sustain Ukraine and sends a powerful signal.” He added that it meant that Ukraine will not become “a second Afghanistan.”

The Kremlin, which U.S. lawmakers have said is orchestrating a sophisticated campaign to shape American public opinion and undermine support for Ukraine, reacted with a mix of bluster and fury.

The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said the military assistance would only contribute to the “ruin” of Ukraine. If provisions in the legislation that allow the United States to seize billions in frozen Russian central bank assets to pay for the rebuilding of Ukraine are used, he warned, America “will have to answer for it.”

Lt. Col. Oleksii Khilchenko, a 30-year-old Ukrainian brigade commander fighting around Robotyne on the southern front, said the new weapons would allow Ukrainians to fight “even more fiercely and with all their courage.”

“This support from American society will save the lives of our soldiers and bolster them across the entire front line,” he said. “We will use this assistance to strengthen our military and bring an end to this war — a war that Russia must lose.”

The vote in the House also lifted the spirits of the army of volunteers who have helped sustain Ukrainian soldiers throughout the war.

“A wonderful day today,” said Olena Detsel, founder of the volunteer organization Three in a Canoe , which raises money for urgent needs for soldiers.

“The news of financial support from the U.S.A. is like a breath of fresh air,” she said in a text message. “It brings the understanding that we are not alone in this fight.”

Liubov Sholudko and Gerry Mullany contributed reporting.

Marc Santora has been reporting from Ukraine since the beginning of the war with Russia. He was previously based in London as an international news editor focused on breaking news events and earlier the bureau chief for East and Central Europe, based in Warsaw. He has also reported extensively from Iraq and Africa. More about Marc Santora

10 Reasons Why Aruba Is The Perfect Destination For First Time International Travelers

• Aruba offers direct flights from major US cities, making it an easy and stress-free destination for first-time international travelers.
• English is widely spoken in Aruba, making it easy for North American travelers to communicate and navigate the island.
• Aruba has a convenient online transit application process and visa-free entry, making it hassle-free for travelers.

According to the U.S. Department of State, Aruba welcomes over 2 million travelers every year, and 80% of that figure is made up of tourists from the United States. It's no wonder, with Aruba's stunning beaches and no shortage of things to discover in its capital of Oranjestad , the country is a slice of heaven in the form of a tropical paradise. Aruba also boasts many repeat visitors, according to locals, especially North American travelers.

So, what makes Aruba so appealing to Americans and other North American travelers? What is it about the island that makes people want to come back? And more importantly, why should travelers choose Aruba in the first place, especially for those who've never traveled internationally before? Read on to find out why Aruba is a first-time international traveler's ideal destination!

Related: These Are The 10 Cheapest Winter Destinations For Snowbirds in Aruba

Direct Flights From The US

From over a dozen american cities with trusted domestic carriers.

As evidenced by this popular query on TripAdvisor , dealing with connections, figuring out how checked bags factor in, and navigating unfamiliar airports may be extremely stressful, especially for first-time flyers and/or international travelers. Instead, travelers have plenty of choice to fly directly to Oranjestad from the central and eastern parts of the United States.

As frequent international travelers can attest, if flying a connection back to the US from abroad, the first city of arrival back in the U.S. requires travelers to recheck baggage after clearing immigration and customs as well as go through security a second time with TSA. Those unfamiliar with the process can find it very stressful and not-so-clear, not to mention tight connections run the risk of being missed. Don't ruin the memories of a perfectly good vacation with this process. Instead, Aruba allows for a truly international-feeling holiday, with direct, rather short, flights for easy travel.

• Carriers That Fly Direct: Jetblue, American, United, Southwest, Spirit, and Delta
• Major North American Cities Serviced: Toronto, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Orlando, New York, Baltimore, Houston, Charlotte, Miami, Newark, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale, Washington D.C., and Minneapolis

English--And Many Other Languages--Are Widely Spoken In Aruba

Other widely spoken languages: dutch, spanish, french, chinese, italian.

With over 80 ethnic identities and nationalities represented among the residents of the island, the Aruba Convention Bureau explains that this melting pot of cultures and diverse peoples living happily among one another earns the island the moniker "One Happy Island." English has become a dominant language on the island, so international travelers from the US and North America won't have any issues navigating around Aruba. Nothing is lost in translation for North American travelers-- most residents speak multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Dutch, German, and the local dialect of Papiamiento. Further, this is the perfect place for visitors to dip their toes into the larger Caribbean area's rich history of immigration and complex colonial legacy, given its language accessibility.

• Number of Residents: 106,537
• Official Language: Dutch and Papiamiento
• Languages Widely Spoken: English, Dutch, Spanish, French, Chinese, Italian

Easy Online Transit Applications And Visa-Free!

The travel authorization form is automated.

Though the USA and Canada's passports are some of the strongest in the world, many countries require Visas for travelers to transit there. NerdWallet recommends checking Visa requirements as the number 1 thing first-time travelers need to do ahead of their travels. However, Aruba's travel authorization form called the Embarkation and Disembarkation Card ("ED Card"), is easily accessible online for quick completion and approval.

All travelers to Aruba, including residents, need to fill this form out, and it's not considered a Visa in any way. Approval, in the form of a printable card or an email, does not take long--in fact, approvals can come in minutes, so it's simple for travelers to check things off their list and get it done. Simply present the ED Card with your passport at immigration upon landing in Aruba, and then you can start your holiday under the Caribbean sun!

• Information Needed: Vital Information (Name, DOB), Passport Information, Travel Plans, Minor Health Information
• Timeline: Application takes approximately 20 minutes to complete; apply up to 7 days before arrival
• Cost Of ED Card: Free!

Related: The Complete Guide To Traveling Solo For The First Time

Visitors Can Stay With Familiar And Trusted Hotel Brands

Like the aruba marriott.

When traveling abroad, having a community around oneself can help relieve any travel stress or anxiety about how to navigate the island, where to get a meal, or what activities to choose. Nervous first-time travelers will be relieved to receive high levels of service coupled with ease and comfort when staying with familiar and trusted hotel brands like the Aruba Marriott Stellaris Casino . We had the pleasure of staying with the Aruba Marriott and can positively say being with a familiar brand with a fantastic selection of food, a stunning beach, and multiple pools made our stay on Aruba all that much better.

• Sample Room Cost at the Aruba Marriott Stellaris Casino: High Season (January) Rate- $899 per night for a base King Room; Low Season (June) Rate- $500 per night for a base King Room
• Best Amenities at the Aruba Marriott : 8 onsite eateries (including familiar brands like Starbucks and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse), both adult-only and family pools, direct beach access with rentable palapas, and complimentary onsite parking

While booking all-inclusive can be extremely convenient, Aruba offers more half-board or traditional hotel accommodations than all-inclusive ones. Given the island's friendly atmosphere, English-language use, and relatively easy navigability, Aruba is a perfect destination to skip an all-inclusive resort and explore the local food, adventure, and tour scene individually, especially for those traveling outside the United States/North America for the first time. Sites like the Aruba Convention Bureau's Aruba.com provide lists of trusted tour operators for those hoping to explore. Though, if you'd prefer an all-inclusive, Aruba's best are listed here .

Small Details Like Electric Outlets And Voltage Are the Same In Aruba As The US

No need to mess around with adapters or converters to power electronic devices.

Have you ever heard of those horror stories of blow dryers accidentally sparking fires or phone chargers causing major blackouts (think of Leap Year 's Amy Adams trying to charge her Blackberry!)? That's because the U.S.'s electric plugs and outlets are commonly Type A or Type B outlets (two flat prongs, sometimes with a round center prong between them) and 120 volts of electricity.

Many other places in the world, however, including Europe and the United Kingdom, actually use Types C-F and Type G, respectively (mostly round pins), and measure at 220-240 volts. Given the incompatibilities in both style and voltage, sometimes American appliances like curling irons are unusable abroad. Sounds complicated, right? Well, in Aruba, first-time travelers have nothing to worry about since it's exactly the same as the U.S. to Aruba!

• Common Appliances Affected By Voltage Differences: Hair appliances (dryers, straighteners, curling irons), facial shavers, some steamers/irons, and some small plug-in fans

Customs Pre-Clearance At Aruba Airport

One of only six countries where clearing customs on flights going to the us is possible.

Major airports like Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada and Dublin International Airport in Ireland offer pre-clearance services for travelers headed to the United States, and Aruba does, too! While it may seem like a longer process and a bit of hassle on the departure end, given one has to go through Customs and Border Patrol at the departure airport, it actually saves travelers time upon arrival in the United States. No long lines at passport control or having to wait for customs to inquire about baggage at the US destination airport--just an easy arrival process as if flying on a domestic flight!

• Recommended Arrival Time for Departures from Aruba Airport: 2 hours before during non-peak season (summer), 2-3 hours before during peak season (winter); no more than 3 hours early since check-in won't be open until then
• Other Major Airports with Pre-Clearance: Toronto Pearson, Dublin, Shannon, Nassau (Bahamas), Vancouver, and Calgary. A full list can be found on the Customs and Border Patrol website here .

Amazing Local Cuisine Familiar To Americans

A melting pot of cultures, flavors, and cuisines.

With so many nationalities represented on the island and with high visitation from North American travelers, it's not uncommon to see local delicacies listed alongside international favorites on one menu. It's completely understandable for first-time travelers out of the country to be a little homesick for recognizable food during a vacation. Aruba is a great place for a bit of cuisine exploration while also having the readily available option of getting some comfort food on the plate when needed.

• Best Local Dishes: Pastechi (fried pastry pockets like a small calzone with different fillings), Keshi Yena (Aruban cheese casserole), and Siboyo Tempera (marinated onions and Madame Jeanette peppers)
• Best Globally Recognizable Dishes: Grilled Caribbean Rock Lobster, Steamed Shrimp, and Catch-of-the-Day Fish with Aruban spices and hot sauce
• Must-Try Local Restaurants: The West Deck Island Grill and Beach Bar and Atardi Restaurant at the Aruba Marriott

Related: Aruba Has More To Offer Than Just Beaches And All-Inclusive Resorts

No Joke, The Best Tap Water Around

Aruba obtains most of its fresh water from desalination plants.

Aruba boasts that it has some of the highest-quality tap water in the world, so much so that they are partnering with world-famous water sommeliers (yes, that's really a thing) to create travel experiences tasting all that Aruban water has to offer. Eager water travelers can even tour the major desalination plant on the island to learn more about the process that achieves this tasty and, most importantly, safe drinking water. While travelers going abroad for the first time may not be up for a plant tour, they can rest assured that the water that they're drinking and using in the restrooms and showers is clean and safe.

• Best Water Tourism Opportunity (For the Curious Traveler!): W.E.B Desalination Plant Tour to see where the water magic happens!
• Best (On-Water) Tour : De Pam Tours Snorkel Cruise to snorkel among shipwrecks and vivid sea life

Just a gentle reminder that the "ABC Islands" (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) are very close to the equator. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency , the sun's UV rays are stronger in that geographic region due to the sun's constant proximity and straight overhead position. Remember to drink water consistently, even more so than at home, to avoid heat spells and dehydration. Take advantage of the tasty tap water with refillable water bottles to carry with you, and of course, use sunscreen! Aruba has some of the best aloe-based, water-resistant sunscreens on the market, like this one here .

A Balance Of Cultural And Adventure Activities

Aruba has a rich history, but for those seeking more thrills, the island has the best of both.

Traveling abroad offers some great opportunities to learn about the destination and the world at large--history, culture, and customs are all interesting things to learn about while traveling. However, sometimes visitors are looking for an experience that's less cerebral and a bit more visceral. Aruba has a great selection of both kinds of activities, an equal balance of learning about the island and its history and experiencing all the activities that the island has to offer. Aruba is also particularly well suited for solo travelers looking for a similar blend of experience themes.

• Best Cultural Tour: Aruba Bus Sightseeing Tours with De Palm Tours
• Best Activity-Based Tours: UTV Riding with De Palm Tours , Bicycling with Aruba Active Vacations ; For a full list of the best tours of Aruba , read here!

Both American Dollars And Aruban Florins Are Readily Accepted

First-time international travelers don't have to worry about currency exchanges ahead of travel.

Named one of the top 10 things a traveler must take care of before traveling abroad by NerdWallet , arranging for currency conversions ahead of travel or having to make that extra stop at the airport is just an extra layer of worry for people traveling abroad. Avoid having to undertake the hassle by traveling to a USD-friendly destination like Aruba. Aruban businesses readily accept American dollars, and many bank ATMs also dispense in American dollars. No need to worry about conversion rates while shopping or dining out-- everything will be as if one were purchasing things at home!

• Best Shopping Spots To Spend Those American Dollars: " The Local Market " (across from the cruise ship terminal), Renaissance Marketplace , and Duty-Free Stores ; for a full list of local artisans, read here !

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Why Direct Travel?

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There are a so many amazing places to make a million memories around the world—and we are here to help you chose the perfect destination. With 80 experienced travel professionals, we are your best option for travel advice and guidance. From Honeymoons to groups plans for over 1000 guests, we can deliver the products and services you expect and deserve.

Best Value in the Area

Trusted by over 30,000 satisfied clients, Direct Travel became the best-selling North Dakota vacation expert team for over 35 years. We are one of the nation’s leading travel management companies and aim to offer our best vacations at incredible prices.

Top Customer Service

Navigating all the online travel, hotel, airline ticket and cruise sites can be confusing to say the least. Why spend your valuable time searching offer after offer on-line when in fact what you’re looking for isn’t the cheapest deal but the package that offers the best value and a vacation experience that will create some of the your life’s most important memories. Take advantage of all Direct Travel has to offer from airline programs to the most preferred relationships with the top travel providers in the world. You simply can’t go wrong when you allow Direct Travel to show you the way.

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