Jeremain Lens put the Dutch in front in the 73rd minute of the international friendly after latching on to a rebound from Theo Janssen, who had smashed the woodwork with a powerful long-range shot.
Ukrainian fans in the eastern city of Donetsk soon had something to cheer about when Olexandr Aliev turned a free-kick into the top corner.
"I think the result was right. We had many young players today who performed well. It was a learning night for me," Van Marwijk told reporters as he experimented with his line-up before the Netherlands begin their Euro 2012 Group E qualification away to San Marino on September 3.
Ajax midfielder De Jong squandered a golden opportunity to put the Dutch in front in the 33rd minute when he failed to beat the keeper from close range following a bizarre aerial tackle from Ukraine's Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.
"I expected a bit better performance of our team. We had too many passes back though I had asked my players to play forward as often as they can," he told reporters.
"I wish the Netherlands had brought the (players who finished as) World Cup runners-up to Ukraine. It could have been easier for us."
