evidence: Azov, Sea of (Map: Sea of Azov) (Latin: Palus Maeotis; Greek: Μαιώτις [Maeotian Swamp or Maeotian Sea]; old Rus': Surozke more; Ukrainian: Ozivske more). A shallow branch of the Black Sea, connected to it by the Kerch Strait. It covers a part of the Black Sea Depression lying between the Donets Ridge and the Azov Upland in the north and the foothills of the Crimean Mountains and the Caucasus Mountains in the south. The Sea of Azov is located between mainland Ukraine in the north, the Crimea in the west, and the Kuban region in the east. In the northeast it is bordered by the Don region. The large rivers that flow into the Sea of Azov—the Don River and the Kuban River—connect it with the continental heartland. The Sea of Azov now lies within the borders of Ukraine and the Russian Federation.