Vinatier was also accused of gathering information about Russia's military. During the trial in the Moscow district court, he admitted to the crimes and asked for forgiveness in fluent Russian for "not following Russian law". He then recited the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, about the importance of patience, and said that he had fallen in love with Russia two decades ago.
At the same time, he appealed for mercy as he has two children to take care of.
The French researcher works for a Swiss individual organization that has "done everything possible" to assist him since his arrest in June.
France's Foreign Ministry described Vinatier's sentence as "extremely harsh" and demanded that he be released immediately.
Espionage charges and violations of the law on registering as a foreign agent have been used on several occasions by the politicized and summary justice system in Russia. The arrest of the French citizen took place at a time when French President Emmanuel Macron expressed the possibility of sending French troops to support the Ukrainian military.
Vinatier is to serve his sentence in a so-called penal colony.
