One of the companies LSE has blocked from trading is Severstal, Russia’s largest steel and mining company. It is run by Alexei Mordashov, Russia’s richest man who is also the largest shareholder in tour operator Tui.

EN+ is an aluminium company whose owners include the oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

Gazpron is the world’s largest gas producer and controlled by the Russian state. Earlier this week Shell announced plans to exit joint ventures with Gazpron and related entities. Shell’s decision will affect about $3bn worth of business in Russia.

Another firm banned from trading is VK which owns Russian social media site VKontakte.

A statement from LSE said: “Further to recent sanctions in connection with events in Ukraine, in light of market conditions, and in order to maintain orderly markets, the London Stock Exchange has suspended the admission to trading of the instruments with immediate effect.”

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The Russian companies trade financial instruments in London including global depositary receipts (GDR) and American depositary receipts (ADR). Ordinary shares in a company are traded in the market where the company has its primary listing – this will be the Moscow Stock Exchange (MSE) for most Russian firms. The MSE was shut down on Monday.

The LSE suspended VTB Capital, a subsidiary of Russia’s second-largest bank VTB, from trading last Friday.

In other news about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the UK government has announced that Russian companies in the aviation or space industry will be prevented from making use of UK-based insurance or reinsurance services directly or indirectly.

These further economic sanctions will limit the benefits Russian entities receive from their access to the global insurance and reinsurance market. Through Lloyd’s and the London Market, the UK is a world leader in these sectors of the global insurance market.

Liontrust and JP Morgan both suspended Russian funds earlier this week.