Russia jails Ukrainian journo to 12yrs for spying

A Russian court sentenced a Ukrainian journalist, Roman Sushchenko, to 12 years in jail today after convicting him of spying for his native Ukraine, his lawyer said, a move likely to further sour ties between Moscow and Kiev.

Relations between the two powers have been tense since 2014 when, after a popular uprising toppled Ukraine's pro-Russian president, Russia annexed the Crimea region from Ukraine and a pro-Russian separatist insurgency erupted in the country's east.

Russia's FSB Security Service detained Sushchenko, 49, in 2016 after he flew into Moscow from Paris where he worked as a correspondent for Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform.

He was accused him of gathering secrets about Russia's military, charges which he has denied.

Mark Feygin, his lawyer, said on Monday a Moscow court had found his client guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 12 years in a maximum security prison. Feygin said he would appeal against the verdict on Tuesday.

He posted a picture of his client being held in a glass courtroom cage shortly before the verdict was announced.