Borderlands Foundation

History is the brand of a country.

Documenting the people who held the line — in their words, on the record, forever.

Stand with them Our story
Ukrainian veterans on the course, one with a prosthetic leg, at a Borderlands rehabilitation event The U.S.–Ukraine Freedom Summit on stage A Ukrainian veteran

Ukraine is fighting two wars. One on the battlefield. One over who gets to tell the story — and the second one decides what the first one meant.

Nations survive on their narrative. Russia spent generations appropriating Ukraine's history, claiming its heroes, and erasing its defeats from the record. Borderlands exists to make sure this war is told by the people who actually fought it — in their words, with their names, on the record, forever.

Samuel P.N. Cook, founder of the Borderlands Foundation

The founder

"I came to Ukraine to record one war. I found three million people whose stories no one was writing down."

Samuel Cook is a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army cavalry officer who served in Iraq under H.R. McMaster, taught Russian military history, and built a career teaching the world to tell better stories. He moved to Kyiv in 2018. When the full-scale invasion came in February 2022, he founded Borderlands two days later — and started recording.

Samuel P.N. Cook
Founder & president, Borderlands Foundation
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What we do

Five ways we win the second war

Every program is a different instrument playing the same song: make sure Ukraine's story is told, by the people who lived it.

Historical archive

We write the record.

Ukraine Military History Institute

Podcasts, lectures, and a growing interview archive preserving 1,000 years of Ukrainian military history — and the hard-won lessons of the war being fought right now.

Active Visit the Institute
Graduates of a Borderlands training program in Kyiv

We keep them whole.

Center for Traumatic Stress

The first systematic platform in Ukraine built to help veterans and their families recover from the psychological cost of war — for an estimated three million who will need it.

Building Visit the Center
The U.S.–Ukraine Freedom Summit on stage

We carry the story to power.

U.S.–Ukraine Freedom Summit

An annual gathering of the two greatest warrior communities in the world — to share what they've learned, counter disinformation, and build the alliances that decide the war's outcome.

Annual Visit the Summit
Ukrainian veterans at a rehabilitation event

We turn the story into allies.

Veteran rehabilitation

Each year we bring Ukrainian veterans to Washington — through sport, reintegration, and the U.S.–Ukraine charity golf tournament — turning shared experience into lasting relationships.

Active Learn more
Veterans and supporters gathered around a table

We give it a home.

Frontline Cafe

A physical gathering place where veterans, historians, and visitors meet — where the stories get told face to face, and the community that carries them stays connected.

Building Learn more

Voices

People who know what's at stake

"
Sam Cook knows the country, its leaders, and the reality on the ground. His relationships, knowledge, and expertise have been invaluable.
General David Petraeus
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
Former Director, CIA
"
Sam and his team led us to a deeper understanding of what's happening on the ground — not just what's reported in the headlines. A trusted partner for us in Ukraine.
Suzanne Kelly
Suzanne Kelly
CEO, The Cipher Brief

From the podcast

How wars are really fought — from the people who've fought them

The Ukraine Military History Podcast brings operational detail and historical context to the war, straight from the soldiers and scholars who understand it best.

Episode 7 cover

Episode 7 · July 9, 2026

The making of a Marine: Ievgen Malik and the last stand at Mariupol

Ukrainian Marine Ievgen Malik on growing up in Poltava, his decision to enlist in 2018, and the brutal opening days of the siege of Mariupol in February 2022.

MariupolMarines36th Brigade
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Episode 6 cover

Episode 6 · June 29, 2026

Inside the battalion that killed over 2,000 Russians in 2 months

Rob Lee interviews Lt. Col. "Shram" Tovstyi, commander of UAV Battalion Corsair — three-layer drone doctrine, Rubicon, fiber-optic vs radio FPVs, and the point system, from the Pokrovsk front.

Drone warfareCorsair BattalionFrontline interview
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Episode 5 cover

Episode 5 · June 22, 2026

Back from the front — Ukraine closes the deep-strike gap

Rob Lee returns from Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kharkiv with a granular frontline read: corps-level Hornets, brigade reform, $4K recon drones, UGVs, AI targeting, and why armor assaults may return.

Deep strikeCorps reformFrontline report
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Episode 4 cover

Episode 4 · June 19, 2026

The kill zone: drone warfare & brigade autonomy

Rob Lee and Dmytro Putiata break down the 15km kill zone, drone-driven brigade autonomy, the Dobropillia crisis, and Ukraine's path back to maneuver warfare.

Kill zoneBrigade autonomyDrone warfare
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Episode 3 cover

Episode 3 · June 16, 2026

Why history wins wars: blitzkrieg & mission command

Sam Cook and Lt. Gen. Zabrodskyi dissect the blitzkrieg myth, elastic defense, and mission command — how the German army innovated under fire from 1916 to 1940, and what Ukraine can learn.

BlitzkriegMission commandMilitary doctrine
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Episode 2 cover

Episode 2 · June 11, 2026

Russia's next move: the front line right now

Rob Lee and Dmytro Putiata break down the 2025 battlefield — Russia's infiltration tactics, drone lines, electronic warfare, and how Ukraine is adapting.

InfiltrationElectronic warfareOSINT
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Episode 1 cover

Episode 1 · June 11, 2026

Why Ukraine's military history matters

Sam Cook and Rob Lee on why Ukraine's military past is essential to understanding today's frontline — from tracking the Russian buildup to the lessons reshaping modern warfare.

Military historyIntelligenceStrategy
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