Ukraine Crisis: 'I Saw It Coming' Says Sarah Palin

As Russia and the West square up over the Ukraine, Sarah Palin, the much-ridiculed former governor of Alaska, has reminded her many detractors that she foresaw problems over Ukraine if Barack Obama was elected back in 2008.

"Tea-party" founder member Palin, whose gaffes include, "But obviously, we've got to stand with our North Korean allies", has highlighted a speech she gave to a political rally in 2008 in Reno, Nevada.

"After the Russian Army invaded the nation of Georgia, Senator Obama's reaction was one of indecision and moral equivalence, the kind of response that would only encourage Russia's Putin to invade Ukraine next," she said.

At the time Foreign Policy magazine's editor Blake Hounshell dismissed her prediction as strange, saying: "This is an extremely far-fetched scenario. And given how Russia has been able to unsettle Ukraine's pro-western government without firing a shot, I don't see why violence would be necessary to bring Kiev to heel."

Palin, who has also been ridiculed for her claim that she could see Russia from Alaska, of which she was Governor from 2006 to 2009, has now written on Facebook: "Yes, I could see this one from Alaska.

"I'm usually not one to Told-Ya-So, but I did, despite my accurate prediction being derided as 'an extremely far-fetched scenario' by the 'high-brow' Foreign Policy magazine."

However, President Obama has appeared to show more firmness than Palin predicted. In a 90-minute conversation with President Putin he demanded Russia pull back its forces as they were in breach of international law.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has even raised the possibility of Russia being ejected from the G8.

As Russian troops begin to blockade key ports and military bases, Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk has appealed for international help, saying his region teetered on the "brink of disaster".