MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday proposed additional measures to support businesses and workers during the coronavirus crisis and said that Russia could not simply shut its economy down due to potentially destructive consequences.
Putin ordered federal and regional government to develop additional measures aimed at supporting citizens, adding that the next two to three weeks would be crucial in Russia’s fight against the spread of the virus.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, Darya Korsunskaya and Alexander Marrow. Editing by Jane Merriman)