Energy-sector officials have cut off the Melitopol-Dzhankoy electricity line supply from mainland Ukraine to Russia-annexed Crimea.
Izet Hdanov, the deputy head of the Crimea blockade civil initiative, attributed the action to support for protesters who have been blockading entries to Crimea from mainland Ukraine for three weeks.
“We can’t supply occupants with commodities, electricity is also a commodity," Hdanov told RFE/RL's Crimea desk. "According to UN norms, the occupants have to provide for the territory they control. We, for our part, will work on its de-occupation.”
But the cut in supplies could also be of a more technical nature.
A few days ago unknown people damaged high-voltage electricity lines, Hdanov said. Later, about 100 activists participating in the blockade gathered at the scene, preventing repair work, prompting officials to cut off the lines.
Three more lines continue to supply Crimea with electricity.
Ihor Ladny, a Zaporizhzhya electrical networks official, said that he supports the blockade, but activists "must act in a civilized manner."
Ukrainian officials have yet to comment on the incident.
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has apparently reached out to voters in upcoming local elections in Ukraine through leaflets spotted in Dnipropetrovsk.
Yanukovych is campaigning for the Opposition bloc, many of whose members are former allies or former members of his now liquidated Party of Regions.
"We will win!" says the leaflet. "I am doing everything possible to return to my people soon, so that again we can be building a happy and rich Ukraine."
Yanukovych’s regime fell in February 2014 after the Euromaidan protests. He then fled to Russia, where he currently resides.