Nearly two million people on the Crimean Peninsula are without electricity after two transmission towers in Ukraine were damaged by explosions, Russia's energy ministry says.

Crimea was annexed by Russia last year but depends on Ukraine for most of its electricity supplies.

The two transmission towers in Kherson, Ukraine, were first damaged on Friday. Ukrainian activists, including Crimean Tatars, tried to block repair works on Saturday, but retreated after clashes with police.

The Interfax news agency said police official Ilya Kiva wrote on Facebook Saturday evening that the repairs had been completed, but shortly after midnight wrote a new post saying the towers had been hit by new explosions. It was not immediately clear who was responsible.

Russia's emergency services said power was being supplied to vital services on Sunday.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.