“В Украине” Appears to be a Rather new Form

It seems Ukrainians have rather recently introduced into their language the form “в Україні”, and now the nationally conscious (that is Svidomites) are demanding of Russians to do the same. Sorry to those readers that may not understand this controversy, it requires some knowledge of Slavic languages.

Even Mikhail Khodorkovsky became a victim of this linguistic harassment…

Stolen from here, follow the link read Anatoly Karlin’s article, it provides further context to the controversy. But here are some publications from the early 20th century, which clearly suggests the form “на Україні” was widely used back then.

…

The major accusation against the Ukrainian language is that it is an artificial construction which the Ukrainian nationalists seek to impose on other people. It’s hard not to agree with this statement.

PS: I cannot say when the form “в Україні” appeared but I would say it gained currency after 1991.