A few neanderthal writers in the past have even promoted "the Ukraine" to reflect the original meaning "the borderland" in order to diminish the international political stature of Ukraine.  That's not bias if it is indeed true.   He is trying to promote correct English, not promote a usage deprecated from the Ukrainian SSR.  But the Russian Xenophobe around here never ceases to amaze me.  If you're looking for an authoritarian source:
http://www.economist.com/research/styleGuide/index.cfm?page=805717