A court in Ukraine has sentenced Yulia Tymoshenko, the country's former prime minister, to seven years in jail after finding her guilty of abusing her authority over a gas deal with Russia in 2009.

Judge Rodion Kireyev handed down the sentence on Tuesday, the maximum sought by state prosecutors, at the end of a three-month trial that has polarised society in the former Soviet republic and risks undermining Ukraine's relations with the West.

Al Jazeera's Paul Brennan reports from Kiev.