The story
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂ew
- Proto-Balto-Slavic*au
- Proto-Slavic*u
- Proto-Slavic*u-
- Proto-Indo-European*krey-
- Proto-Indo-European*kreh₁y-
- Proto-Indo-European*kroh₁y-
- Proto-Indo-European*kroyh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*kroyh₁-eye-ti
- Proto-Balto-Slavic*krájīˀtei
- Proto-Slavic*krojiti?
- Proto-Indo-European*krey-der.?
- Proto-Slavic*kràjь
- Proto-Slavic*ukrajina
- Old East Slavicоукраина (ukraina)
- PolishUkraina
- Old East Slavicоукраина (ukraina)
- RussianУкраи́на (Ukraína)
- English todayUkraine
Borrowed from Polish Ukraina or Russian Украи́на (Ukraína), from Old East Slavic оукраина (ukraina), which is most commonly taken to have meant "borderland, marches" in this context, though for about a century now Ukrainian scholars have articulated an alternative theory that it meant "region, country, the land around (a given center)" in this context instead. See Name of Ukraine on Wikipedia for more.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.