LONDON, March 15 Reuters Britain said on Tuesday it would ban the export of luxury goods to Russia and impose a new 35 tariff on 900 million pounds 1.2 billion worth of Russian imports, including vodka, metals, fertilisers and other commodities.

The move follows a series of economic sanctions announced by the government to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine. Further sanctions against wealthy Russians are expected to be announced later on Tuesday.

Our new tariffs will further isolate the Russian economy from global trade, ensuring it does not benefit from the rulesbased international system it does not respect, finance minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement.

Russia says it is carrying out a special operation to disarm and denazify Ukraine, which Kyiv and its allies call a baseless pretext to invade a democratic nation of 44 million people.

The government said the export ban would come into effect shortly and it would soon set out which products were affected, but added they would likely include highend fashion, works of art and luxury vehicles.

Many British firms including carmakers Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin and luxury fashion label Burberry have already said they are temporarily shutting their outlets in Russia or suspending the supply of goods.

The government said the goods subject to an additional tariff of 35 had been chosen to minimise impact on Britain while maximising impact on the Russian economy.

The goods include…