[3][4] However, since 2014 much of the raion was not under control of Ukrainian government and has been part of the Donetsk People's Republic which continues using it as an administrative unit.

[5] Its administrative center was located in the city of Novoazovsk, and its southern portion borders the Sea of Azov.

Within the Novoazovsk Raion, were born the Arctic explorer Georgy Sedov, the general-polkovnik Hero of the Soviet Union I. Lyudnikov, poet N. Scherbina, and the sculptor N. Yasinenko.

Following the events surrounding the war in Donbas, the western part of the raion remained under control of the Ukrainian government, whereas most of the area was under administration of the Donetsk People's Republic.

To facilitate the administration, on 9 December 2014, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's national parliament, changed the boundaries and total area of the Novoazovsk Raion to encompass 818.612 km2 (316.068 sq mi).