MOSCOW (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are without heating due a long-standing dispute between the national gas company and regional utility providers.

More than 600,000 residents in Kryvy Rih in Ukraine's south-east on Monday seized the building of the local gas company demanding that the heating be turned on. Temperatures are below zero at night in the area. In the town of Smila, in central Ukraine, residents on Tuesday blocked roads leading into town, demanding that authorities provide heating.

Opposition lawmaker Oleh Lyashko said last week that at least six towns with a combined population over 1 million remain without heating.

The troubles with central heating come after national gas company Naftagaz raised gas prices that some struggling municipalities said were impossibly high for them to pay.