Long-derided as a soccer mom with a limited grasp of international geopolitical affairs, it turns out the world may have misunderestimated Sarah Palin.

Speaking as the Republican vice-presidential nominee in the 2008 US presidential campaign, Palin warned that if Barack Obama was elected then Russia would be likely to invade Ukraine.

Palin made the remarks when outlining various “crisis scenarios” that would face the US if Obama became president. She was speaking in response to comments made by Obama’s running mate Joe Biden, who warned democratic supporters that other world leaders would want to test the then Illinois senator.

Download the new Independent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

“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,” said Palin.

A blog post from American magazine Foreign Policy described such a scenario as “extremely far-fetched”, noting that Russia already held significant influence over Ukraine (presumably in the form of now ousted President Viktor Yanukovych) and that the magazine “didn’t see why violence would be necessary to bring Kiev to heel.”

The latest updates from Ukraine suggest that with the change in government, Russia is now content to use military force instead of political influence. Russia is now fully in control of the Crimean peninsula with tense stand-offs between Moscow’s troops and Ukrainian soldiers reported around key military sites.

Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: The crisis in Ukraine Show all 15 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: The crisis in Ukraine 1/15 Perevalnoye, Ukarine Russian forces stand as they block the Ukrainian unit in Perevalnoye, not far from Simferopol 2/15 London, England Memorials and floral tributes, dedicated to protesters who were killed in recent clashes with security forces in Kiev, surround a statue of 'Vladimir the Great', the Grand Prince of Kiev from 980 to 1015 AD, in Notting Hill in London 3/15 Kiev, Ukraine Pallbearers carry the coffin of Andryi Pozniak (25) a self defense volunteer who was shot and killed by an unknown assailant near Kiev's Independence Square 4/15 Simferopol, Ukraine Ukrainian police officers hold an activist of the Ukrainian women movement Femen 5/15 Kiev, Ukraine A woman distributes food on Independence Square in central Kiev Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images 6/15 Lubimovka, Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers at the Belbek military base talk friends and family members through the gates of the base entrance in Lubimovka, Ukraine Sean Gallup/Getty Images 7/15 Donetsk, Ukraine Pro-Russian activists demonstrate in front of the regional administration in Donetsk. Russian military forces and planes were flowing into Crimea on March 3, in violation of bilateral accords, Ukrainian border guards said Alexander Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images 8/15 Donetsk, Ukraine Riot policemen stand guard in front of the regional administration in Donetsk Alexander Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images 9/15 Perevalne Pro-Russian activists stand guard in front of armed men in military fatigues blocking access to a Ukrainian border guards base not far from the village of Perevalne near Simferopol Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images 10/15 Kirillovsky, Russia Russia's President Vladimir Putin, accompanied by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (front left), walks to watch military exercises upon his arrival at the Kirillovsky firing ground in the Leningrad region RIA Novosti/Reuters 11/15 Sevastopol, Ukraine A Russian Navy De-Gaussing Ship passes in Sevastopol harbour. The Russian Black Sea Fleet commander Aleksandr Vitko has issued an ultimatum to the Ukrainian military personnel in Crimea, according to reports Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images 12/15 New York, USA The UN Security Council chamber during a meeting on the situation in the Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York City Jason Szenes/EPA 13/15 Bakhchisaray, Ukraine Armed men in military fatigues block access to Ukrainian military barracks in the small Crimean city of Bakhchisaray Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images 14/15 Sevastopol, Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier speaks to his daughter through a gate as he waits inside the Sevastopol tactical military brigade base near Belbek in Sevastopol Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images 15/15 Odessa, Ukraine A Pro-Russian activist waves a chain after an unsuccessful attempt by the demonstrators to storm a regional state administration building in the Black Sea city of Odessa Alexey Kravtsov/AFP/Getty Images 1/15 Perevalnoye, Ukarine Russian forces stand as they block the Ukrainian unit in Perevalnoye, not far from Simferopol 2/15 London, England Memorials and floral tributes, dedicated to protesters who were killed in recent clashes with security forces in Kiev, surround a statue of 'Vladimir the Great', the Grand Prince of Kiev from 980 to 1015 AD, in Notting Hill in London 3/15 Kiev, Ukraine Pallbearers carry the coffin of Andryi Pozniak (25) a self defense volunteer who was shot and killed by an unknown assailant near Kiev's Independence Square 4/15 Simferopol, Ukraine Ukrainian police officers hold an activist of the Ukrainian women movement Femen 5/15 Kiev, Ukraine A woman distributes food on Independence Square in central Kiev Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images 6/15 Lubimovka, Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers at the Belbek military base talk friends and family members through the gates of the base entrance in Lubimovka, Ukraine Sean Gallup/Getty Images 7/15 Donetsk, Ukraine Pro-Russian activists demonstrate in front of the regional administration in Donetsk. Russian military forces and planes were flowing into Crimea on March 3, in violation of bilateral accords, Ukrainian border guards said Alexander Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images 8/15 Donetsk, Ukraine Riot policemen stand guard in front of the regional administration in Donetsk Alexander Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images 9/15 Perevalne Pro-Russian activists stand guard in front of armed men in military fatigues blocking access to a Ukrainian border guards base not far from the village of Perevalne near Simferopol Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images 10/15 Kirillovsky, Russia Russia's President Vladimir Putin, accompanied by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (front left), walks to watch military exercises upon his arrival at the Kirillovsky firing ground in the Leningrad region RIA Novosti/Reuters 11/15 Sevastopol, Ukraine A Russian Navy De-Gaussing Ship passes in Sevastopol harbour. The Russian Black Sea Fleet commander Aleksandr Vitko has issued an ultimatum to the Ukrainian military personnel in Crimea, according to reports Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images 12/15 New York, USA The UN Security Council chamber during a meeting on the situation in the Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York City Jason Szenes/EPA 13/15 Bakhchisaray, Ukraine Armed men in military fatigues block access to Ukrainian military barracks in the small Crimean city of Bakhchisaray Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images 14/15 Sevastopol, Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier speaks to his daughter through a gate as he waits inside the Sevastopol tactical military brigade base near Belbek in Sevastopol Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images 15/15 Odessa, Ukraine A Pro-Russian activist waves a chain after an unsuccessful attempt by the demonstrators to storm a regional state administration building in the Black Sea city of Odessa Alexey Kravtsov/AFP/Getty Images

Palin’s comments may seem prescient but as one YouTube commenter noted “Palin made so many wacky claims its about time one was proved right. A broken clock is correct twice a day.”