Alleged Russian operative Maria Butina sentenced in US to 18 months in jail

WASHINGTON -- Maria Butina, who pleaded guilty last year to working as a Russian clandestine agent in the United States, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by a federal judge in Washington, DC on Friday.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan gave Butina credit for nine months of time served and ordered her deported as soon as her time is up.

"You have a future ahead of you. I wish you the best luck," the judge said.

In court on Friday, Butina insisted she wasn't working as a spy, and that she only wanted to mend Russia-US relations, according to an NBC news report.

"I came here to better my life to get a degree. I wished to mend relations while building my resume," she said. "It was for these actions and my own ignorance that I'm here," Butina told the judge.

"It has never been my intention to harm American people, but I did so by not notifying your government. It has harmed my attempts to improve relations," she said. "I have three degrees, but now I'm a convicted felon with no money, no job and no freedom."

Butina, a 30-year-old American University graduate student, was arrested in July and accepted a deal with prosecutors in December.