На/в Украине?

[bakedgoods10.livejournal.com]

I've heard a couple different opinions on this topic, and would like to see what the majority of native speakers has to say.

When saying "in Ukraine" does one use the preposition на or в? Originally, in school, I was taught на Украине. However, my senior year, in preparation for a trip there, we were instructed to say в Украине. The explanation was that, Ukrainians, since the fall of the CCCP, have renewed pride for their country, and claim that since it is not an island there is no reason to use на- that it is в Украине. Russians, though, still claim it to be на Украине. However, speaking recently with my host brother from Ukraine, he uses на. So, is what I'm been told about в complete nonsense, or is it a regional thing? My host brother's from Eastern Ukraine, when Russian is still the main language spoken in homes, and Ukrainian is left for official documents only, whereas I've heard the west is all Ukrainian-speaking. Could that be where в comes from?

That's my question to native speakers- do you say на Украине or в Украине? Which country/region are you from and how old are you?

x-posted in linguaphiles

Comments

[ukrknabo.livejournal.com]

I personally think "на Украине" is the only accurate choice.

As a matter of fact, this is a holywar topic.