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President Vladimir Putin marked Victory Day calling for unity and a dignified honoring of those killed during World War II, even as the coronavirus pandemic curtailed the pomp the Kremlin had planned for Russia's most important secular holiday.

With this year marking 75 years since the Nazi defeat, the Kremlin had hoped to turn already elaborate May 9 celebrations into a platform for Putin to host world leaders and promote what he sees as Russia's rightful place on the world stage.

But the coronavirus has upended political life, and society in general, with millions under lockdown orders, the economy contracting, and Putin forced to limit his appearances to teleconferences with cabinet members and governors.

At a speech that marked his first public appearance in nearly a month, Putin did not mention the virus or its spread in Russia, focusing solely on the memory of the millions of Soviet citizens who died in what is known as the Great Patriotic War.

"We will, as usual, widely and solemnly mark the anniversary date, do it with dignity, as our duty to those who have suffered, achieved, and accomplished the victory tells us," he said. "There will be our main parade on Red Square, and the national march of the Immortal Regiment -- the march of our grateful memory and inextricable, vital, living communication between generations."

He also vowed that Russia would always remember the victims of the conflict, which killed an estimated 25 million Soviet citizens -- most of them civilians.

"We know and firmly believe that we are invincible when we stand together," he said.

Some people defied the restrictions to take to the streets displaying photos of grandparents who died in the war.

Irina Popova, 60, who owns a cosmetics business, told RFE/RL near Red Square that her grandmother always used to take her for walks through Moscow on Victory Day.

"You can't not celebrate this day. It's sacred," she said. "It's good to self-isolate, this thing is dangerous. But I got an [electronic] pass, so I'm allowed to go on the street."

Vladimir Putin addressed the Russians, congratulating fellow citizens on the holiday.

"Dear citizens of Russia! Dear veterans! Dear friends!

With all my heart I congratulate you on Victory Day!

For all of us, this is the most important, most costly holiday. We always celebrate it solemnly and popularly, all together.

The spiritual, moral significance of Victory Day remains invariably great, and our attitude towards it remains sacred.

This is our memory and pride, the history of our country, the history of each family, part of our souls that were passed on to us by fathers and mothers, our grandparents.

Today we keenly feel the greatness of their destinies, remember those who are no longer with us, look at their faces with love in photographs of different years, wish our veterans long life, bow before the great generation of winners.

They have done so much for the Motherland that it can't be measured, paid for in any way. They saved the Fatherland, the life of future generations, liberated Europe, defended the world, restored cities and villages, achieved grandiose accomplishments.

We pay tribute to the endless recognition of the great, sacrificial feat of the Soviet people, people of different nationalities, standing shoulder to shoulder at the front and in the rear. Time has no power over their courage, unity, dignity and truly steel spirit.

Dear friends!

Here, at the Kremlin wall, is a sacred place for all of us.

Eternal fire burns day and night in memory of those who died in the Great Patriotic War.

Here lies the Unknown Soldier. We come here to bow to him and all the defenders of the Motherland, heroes who forever remained in mass, unknown graves near Moscow and Smolensk, Stalingrad and Kursk, near Sevastopol and Minsk, Kiev and Riga, near Berlin and Vienna, on the Pulkovo Heights, on the banks of the Neva , Dnieper, Danube, Vistula and Oder.

Millions of the fallen did not see, did not wait for the Victory - the Victory that they so dreamed about, they believed that they would defeat the enemy and return to their native home. And they fought for it, fought to the last breath, gave their lives so that we, our children and grandchildren, those who have not yet been born, who have to come to this world, which have defended, have saved the Soviet soldier.

We bow our heads to the blessed memory of everyone who has not returned from the war, to the memory of sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, fellow soldiers, relatives, friends.

A minute of silence is announced.

(A moment of silence.)

Dear friends!

75 years have passed since the Great Patriotic War ended. We will, as usual, widely and solemnly mark the anniversary date, we will do it with dignity, as our duty to those who have suffered, achieved and achieved the Victory tells us.

There will be our main parade on Red Square, and the national march of the Immortal Regiment - the march of our grateful memory and inextricable, vital, lively communication between generations.

Our veterans fought for life against death. And we will always be equal to their unity and stamina.

We are united by a common memory and common hopes, our common aspirations, our responsibility for the present and future.

We know and firmly believe that we are invincible when we are together.

Happy holiday to you! Happy Victory Day! Hooray!"

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A new study has found that children in the United States are suffering the highest rate of food insecurity ever recorded in the country, as tens of millions of Americans are barred from working under coronavirus-induced lockdowns.

Food insecurity for American children was significantly worse in April than during any year since 2001, before which point no comparable data is available, according to research published on Wednesday by the Brookings Institution.

"Looking over time, particularly to the relatively small increase in child food insecurity during the Great Recession, it is clear that young children are experiencing food insecurity to an extent unprecedented in modern times." wrote Brookings researcher Lauren Bauer, who called the findings "alarming."

© Reuters / Andrew Hay
FILE PHOTO: Volunteers hand out free groceries at a drive-by aid station, providing food to families and children in New Mexico during the Covid-19 crisis.

Citing two nationally representative surveys, Bauer found that by the end of April, one in five US households - and two in five households with children 12 and under - could not afford enough food "often," or "sometimes," figures she said were "higher than they have ever been on record." Compared to 2018, food insecurity for households with children under 18 had seen a 130 percent spike.

While the research did not investigate the causes of the surge in food shortages for households with children, the soaring figures come as more than 30 million Americans file for unemployment benefits, thrown out of work by Covid-19 containment measures that have shuttered wide swathes of the US economy. The true number of workers out of a job is likely higher, however, given that some are not eligible for benefits, while others simply never apply to receive them. And though Congress has passed a number of relief packages worth trillions of dollars, many have found the aid insufficient to keep their families afloat for weeks, or even months, under lockdown.

Thousands of residents have taken to the streets to protest the containment policies across a handful of states, demanding they be allowed to return to work. The demonstrations have been spurred on by US President Donald Trump, who has urged some governors to "liberate" their citizens, arguing that "we can't let the cure be worse than the problem itself."

Despite the pressure from the commander in chief and their own citizens, the governors have approached reopening cautiously, fearing a resurgence of the virus, which has infected more than 1.2 million people in the US and killed in excess of 73,000. According to federal guidelines, states should not lift their containment policies before observing a steady fall in new infections for two weeks straight, and are expected to carry out widespread testing for the virus.

Short of ending the lockdowns keeping millions from earning a livelihood, Bauer recommended ways the government could mitigate the country's fast-growing food insecurity problem - including increasing food benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as well as broadening eligibility for the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card, which provides low-income residents with funds for food and other essentials.

The coronavirus pandemic is set to plunge the British economy into one of the deepest recessions ever, shaving 14 percent off the country's gross domestic product, according to a Bank of England forecast.

The central bank said that the coronavirus outbreak has led to an "unprecedented" situation for the global economy. Evaluating the toll the crisis is set to take on the UK, the bank said that apart from a sharp fall in GDP over the first half of the year, it will also result in a "substantial" hike in unemployment.

© Reuters / Toby Melville
FILE PHOTO: The Bank of England, London, Britain

In real terms, that would mean the nation's GDP may fall close to 30 percent in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the end of last year, the bank's latest Monetary Policy Report says. After shrinking around three percent in the first three months of this year, the UK economy is set to face a 25 percent decline in the three months to June. The two successive quarters of contraction would mean that the UK will enter a technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of economic decline.

For the year as a whole, the nation's economy is expected to contract by 14 percent. It would be the sharpest drop since 1706, according to historical Bank of England data.

On the bright side, the bank predicts that economic growth to rapidly pick up, with the recovery expected to be much faster than after the 2008 economic crisis. The UK's GDP is set to hit pre-Covid levels in the second half of next year and could further rise three percent in 2022. However, the scenario is built on the assumption that the worst days of the pandemic would be over. The report stressed that the outlook for the economy is "unusually uncertain."

"Economic prospects are highly dependent on the evolution of the pandemic and how governments, households and businesses continue to respond to it," the bank's governor, Andrew Bailey, said in a statement.

As the central bank decided to leave interest rates intact - at the historic low of 0.1 percent - Bailey said that it could take "further action as necessary" to support the economy amid the coronavirus crisis. While the members of the nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep interest rates unchanged for now, they were divided on whether to inject more stimulus into the economy. On Thursday, two members of the MPC voted to increase the quantitative easing program by another £100 billion ($123 billion). In March, the committee agreed to increase the stock of asset purchases by £200 billion ($246 billion) to a total of £645 billion ($795 billion).

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