A secret cable released by Wikileaks on Tuesday revealed that Washington had been warned by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as early as 2008 that US-EU-NATO interfering in Ukraine would result in the country splitting in two.

The 2008 cable classified by William Burns, then US Ambassador to Moscow and currently the US Deputy Secretary of State stated:

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"Following a muted first reaction to Ukraine's intent to seek a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the Bucharest summit (ref A), Foreign Minister Lavrov and other senior officials have reiterated strong opposition, stressing that Russia would view further eastward expansion as a potential military threat."

The cable further revealed that the former Russian foreign minister and Moscow believed that NATO's involvement and expansion in Ukraine and Georgia was not based on security measures but rather a leftover legacy of the Cold War.

Ukraine and Georgia have lobbied to become members of NATO for some years, with full backing of the US, but their proposal for membership was rejected by the alliance at the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008.

In February of this year, Ukrainian far-rights groups ousted President Viktor Yanukovych - a coup which has been largely supported by the US and Europe.

The newly appointed Ukrainian government hopes to hold early elections on May 25, a move which has caused Russia to view the coup as an illegitimate fascist movement and motivated the large nation to become further involved in Ukraine and Crimea.