Ukrainian postgraduate student Pavlo Lapshyn, 25, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to the murder of 82-year-old grandfather Mohammed Saleem in Birmingham in April and plotting to cause explosions near mosques in the West Midlands.
Mohammed Saleem's daugher Shazia Khan was among relatives who watched from the public gallery as sentence was passed.
Mr Justice Sweeney read her victim impact statement that said the effect of her father's violent death was "a rollercoaster experience where the ride will never end".
She said that her mother cannot accept the death of her husband of more than 50 years, and is haunted by thoughts that she could have saved him.
A Ukrainian student has admitted stabbing an 82-year-old Muslim pensioner within five days of arriving in the UK.
Police have released images showing Ukrainian student Pavlo Lapshyn preparing for and carrying out attacks in the Midlands.
A timeline leading up to the conviction of Pavlo Lapshyn, who murdered pensioner Mohammed Saleem and set bombs off outside mosques.