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🇩🇰 Denmark /Conflict & Security

At First, We Could Convince Our Eight-Year-Old Granddaughter the Bombs Were Thunder. She No Longer Believes Us

From Berlingske · () Danish

Translated from Danish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Opinion Named sources Ongoing story
  • The opinion article contrasts Vladimir Putin’s message about children with a Russian missile attack on Kyiv on Sept. 1.
  • The writer says several children were among those wounded and describes how the attacks changed an eight-year-old granddaughter’s understanding of the explosions.
  • Sept. 1 is observed as Knowledge Day in both Russia and Ukraine, although Ukrainian author Sergey Maidukov says children in the two countries are taught opposing narratives.

At midnight on Sept. 1, Vladimir Putin sent his official greeting to schoolchildren marking the start of the academic year. Two hours later, Russian ballistic missiles came over Kyiv. Soon afterward, the writer read the first reports of casualties. Several children were among the wounded.

The writer recalls trying to explain the explosions to an eight-year-old granddaughter by telling her they were thunder. That explanation no longer works. The title captures the shift from an attempt to protect a child from the reality of war to the moment when the child recognizes it herself.

Sept. 1 is observed as Knowledge Day in both Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian author Sergey Maidukov says that children in the two countries learn opposing versions of the world. The article places Putin’s public message about children beside the consequences of the attacks that followed it.

On Aug. 29, 2026, Putin opened new schools and met teachers and students at Moscow State Pedagogical University ahead of the new school year. Russian media highlighted his remark: “Nothing is more important than children.” The article presents that statement against the reports of wounded children in Kyiv.

Nothing is more important than children.

· Vladimir PutinThe remark was highlighted by Russian media after Putin visited schools and met educators and students before the new academic year.
About this summary

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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