Russian spy Maria Butina has been jailed in the US after admitting she tried to infiltrate the National Rifle Association (NRA).

The 30-year-old, who also pleaded guilty to trying to influence Republican politicians and relaying intelligence back to a government official in her homeland, received an 18-month sentence.

It includes the nine months the pro-gun activist has already served since her arrest in July last year, having managed to enter the US on a student visa.

The US Justice Department said her work as a Kremlin operative took place from “as early as 2015 and continuing through at least February 2017”.

But her lawyer originally claimed she was merely a student who was interested in relations between the US and Russia.

Butina later pleaded guilty as part of a deal after she indicated her willingness to cooperate with prosecutors.

She will be deported back to Russia at the end of her sentence.

Judge Tanya Chutkan said the sentence reflected the seriousness of the offence and would deter others from committing similar crimes.

Butina said she was “ashamed and embarrassed” by what she had done.

The former American University graduate told the court she was “deeply sorry” for her actions, adding: “I have three degrees, but now I am a convicted felon with no job, no money.”

Prior to her sentencing hearing, prosecutors had said she was helped in her work by the Russian official she was feeding information back to, as well as two US citizens.

Her lawyers named the former as Alexander Torshin, deputy governor of the central Russian bank, and prosecutors named one of the Americans as conservative activist Paul Erickson, who dated Butina.

The long-term aim of her work in the US was said to be a bid to sway policy in Washington towards Russia, but Moscow dismissed the case against her as “fabricated”.

When it became clear she was to enter a guilty plea, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “I asked all the heads of our intelligence services what is going on – nobody knows anything about her.”

Butina was the first Russian to be convicted of attempting to influence US policy in a period that included the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump.

However, the case was not related to the investigation led by Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the election.

Mr Mueller’s report ended up finding no evidence of collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign.

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