MADRID, July 23 (Reuters) - Spain's High Court sentenced

a 74-year-old retired civil servant to 18 years in prison on

Tuesday for terrorism-related offences after finding him guilty

of sending several parcel bombs in 2022 targeting government and

diplomatic offices.

Pompeyo Gonzalez Pascual was arrested in January 2023 after

sending six parcels with homemade explosives addressed to

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Defence Minister Margarita

Robles, the embassies of Ukraine and the United States in

Madrid, an air force base and a weapons manufacturer in late

2022.

Most were defused, although a security employee at the

Ukrainian embassy was slightly injured when one detonated.

A judge had released Gonzalez Pascual, who lived in Miranda

del Ebro in northern Spain, on bail in April 2023 citing his age

and his lack of a criminal record.

Now, the court sentenced him to 10 years in jail for

terrorism and an additional eight years for manufacturing

explosive devices for that purpose, the ruling said. Gonzalez

was also sentenced to pay 1,500 euros ($1,627.65) in damages to

the injured Ukrainian embassy official Mykola Velychko.

It said Gonzalez Pascual had acted "with the aim to create a

great commotion in Spanish society for it to exercise pressure

on the governments of Spain and the United States, other

institutions in Spain to stop supporting Ukraine in the war

against Russia".

The court is still due to order his jailing in a separate,

though automatic, step. Gonzalez can appeal the sentence.

The Spanish government has been adamant in its support of

Ukraine and has since shipped tanks and other weapons to Kyiv.

During the investigation, police found traces of DNA

matching Gonzalez's on the explosive devices. Records supplied

by online retailer Amazon ( AMZN ) showed Gonzalez had bought

precursor materials for explosives in June and July 2022.

($1 = 0.9216 euros)

(Reporting by Inti Landauro)