Yekaterinoslav Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yekaterinoslav. It bordered Poltava Governorate to the north, Don Host Oblast to the east, Sea of Azov to the southeast, Taurida Governorate to the south, and Kherson Governorate to the east, and covered the area of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts of modern Ukraine.

Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the country and the second-largest city in Donetsk Oblast, with an estimated population of 425,681 people in January 2022; Ukrainian authorities estimate the population of Mariupol at approximately 120,000. Mariupol has been occupied by Russian forces since May 2022.