View source for Kyiv TV Tower

{{Short description|385 m-high (1,263 ft) lattice steel tower}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox building
| name             = Kyiv Television Tower
| native_name      = Київська телевежа
| native_name_lang = uk
| image            = Киевская телебашня.JPG
| image_size       = 
| image_alt        = 
| caption          = Kyiv TV Tower in 2014
| image_map        = 
| map_alt          = 
| map_caption      = 
| map_type         = Ukraine Kyiv
| map_size         = 300
| location         = [[Kyiv]], [[Ukraine]]
| coordinates      = {{coord|50|28|16|N|30|27|12|E|region:UA|display=inline,title}}
| status           = Complete
| opening          = 1973, 2025
| closing_date     = 2022–2025
| start_date       = 1968
| completion_date  = 1973
| building_type    = [[Steel]] [[Lattice tower|lattice]] [[television tower]]
| height           = {{convert|385|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| antenna_spire    = 
| roof             = 
| top_floor        = 
| floor_count      = 
| elevator_count   = 2
| cost             = 
| floor_area       = 
| architect        = {{ill|Vitalii Shymanovskyi|uk|Шимановський Віталій Миколайович}}
| structural_engineer = 
| main_contractor  = 
| renovation_date  = October 2024 - 2025
| developer        = 
| owner            = 
| management       = 
| references       = 
}}

The '''Kyiv TV Tower''' ({{langx|uk|Київська телевежа|translit=Kyivska televezha}}) is a {{convert|385|m|ft|abbr=on|adj=mid|-high}} [[lattice tower|lattice]] metal [[tower]]<ref name = em>{{Cite web |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/112289 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301010101/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/112289 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=2022-03-01 |title=Kiev TV Tower |work=[[Emporis]] |access-date=2022-03-01}}</ref> on Oranzhereina Street, [[Kyiv]], [[Ukraine]], and is the tallest structure in the country.<ref name = sky /> The tower was built in 1973 while Kyiv was the capital of the [[Ukrainian SSR]].<ref name = LBC />  The tower was the tallest freestanding metal structure in the world.<ref name="em" /><ref name="sky">{{SkyscraperPage | id= 1541 | title= Kiev TV Tower | accessdate= 1 March 2022}}</ref> It is used for [[radio]] and [[television]] [[broadcasting]] and is not open to the public.<ref name="em" /> It is the tallest lattice tower in the world and third tallest structure in Europe.

== History ==
The tower was first designed for [[Moscow]], then the Soviet capital. But Moscow authorities preferred a more "solid" type of tower, which was eventually built ([[Ostankino Tower]]). Later, when Kyiv needed its own tower, the project was reintroduced. The Soviet government ordered the engineers to shorten the tower by almost 30%, so as not to be as tall as the Moscow one.<ref>В. Стах, [http://www.umoloda.kiev.ua/number/531/211/19178/ "Викрадачі спокою наших осель"], ''Україна Молода'', #191, 14 October 2005 (in Ukrainian)</ref><ref>І. Мащенко, [http://www.dt.ua/3000/3680/30789/ "Гулівери земних споруд"], ''[[Zerkalo Nedeli]]'', #16 (340) 21–27 April 2001 (in Ukrainian) {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120530074036/http://www.dt.ua/3000/3680/30789/ |date=30 May 2012 }}</ref>

=== Location ===
The tower was built on top of the Jewish cemetery in [[Lukyanivka (neighborhood)|Lukianivka]]. The cemetery was officially closed in 1966 and Jewish families were given six months to rebury their relatives in the Jewish areas of a new cemetery in the city. Since the relatives of the interred had been killed in the [[Babi Yar massacre|Babyn Yar massacre]], most of the graves were not moved. After the headstones had been destroyed or removed, the antenna was built on top of the existing graves.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 April 1966 |title=Kiev Jewish Cemetery Reported Being Erased; Community Has No Rabbi |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/kiev-jewish-cemetery-reported-being-erased-community-has-no-rabbi |access-date=1 March 2022 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Jewish cemetery in Kiev |url=https://www.centropa.org/photo/jewish-cemetery-kiev |access-date=1 March 2022 |website=centropa.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Reconstitution of the historical memory of the Lukianivka Jewish Cemetery. {{!}} Бабин Яр |url=http://babynyar.gov.ua/en/reconstitution-historical-memory-lukianivka-jewish-cemetery |access-date=2 March 2022 |website=babynyar.gov.ua |archive-date=2 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302124916/http://babynyar.gov.ua/en/reconstitution-historical-memory-lukianivka-jewish-cemetery |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Лукьяновское еврейское кладбище в Киеве – MEMORYON |url=https://memoryon.net/ru/pages/lukyanovskoe-evrejskoe-kladbishe-v-kieve?pageId=606ec481d554c7000ac2ee13 |access-date=2 March 2022 |website=memoryon.net |language=ru}}</ref>

=== Construction ===
Construction began in 1968<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://kiev.segodnya.ua/kwheretogo/Kievskaya-telebashnya-stala-priyutom-dlya-sokolov-i-stoit-bez-edinogo-bolta-451003.html |title=Киевская телебашня стала приютом для соколов и стоит без единого болта |accessdate=18 March 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319004212/https://kiev.segodnya.ua/kwheretogo/Kievskaya-telebashnya-stala-priyutom-dlya-sokolov-i-stoit-bez-edinogo-bolta-451003.html |archivedate=19 March 2018 |url-status=dead |language=uk}}</ref> and finished in 1973<ref name = sky /> at a cost of approximately $12 million. Made of steel pipe of various [[diameter]]s and thicknesses, the structure weighs {{convert|2,700|t|sp=us}}. The central pipe, or core, where the [[elevator]] is located, is {{convert|4|m|sp=us}} in diameter and made of pipe that is 12&nbsp;mm thick. It sits on a four-legged base that is about {{convert|100|m|sp=us}} meters tall. Atop the base is an enclosed level which houses [[microwave]] transmitting and receiving equipment. At about {{convert|200|m|sp=us}} is a second enclosed level that houses television and [[FM transmitter (personal device)|FM transmitters]], as well as a control and maintenance shop. This second level is the elevator's terminus.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

The tower is unique in that no mechanical fasteners such as rivets are used in the structure: every joint, pipe, and fixture is attached by [[welding]]. It is the first all-welded tower in the world.<ref name = sky />

=== 2022 missile strike ===
[[File:Rocket strike on Kyiv TV Tower, 1 March 2022.webm|thumb|Russian missile strike on 1 March 2022]]
On 1 March 2022, the tower was hit by a missile fired by Russian forces during the [[Battle of Kyiv (2022)|Battle of Kyiv]] as part of the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 March 2022 |title=Deadly blasts at Kyiv TV tower disrupt broadcasts in Ukraine – video |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2022/mar/01/deadly-blasts-at-kyiv-tv-tower-disrupt-broadcasts-in-ukraine-video |access-date=1 March 2022 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> According to Ukrainian officials, five people were killed as a result.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=1 March 2022 |title=Ukraine says five people killed in Russian attack on Kyiv TV tower |url= https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-says-five-people-killed-russian-attack-kyiv-tv-tower-2022-03-01/ |work=[[Reuters]]|location= |access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref> The dead included [[Yevhenii Sakun]], the first journalist killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref name="cjr-sakun">{{Cite news |last=Allsop |first=Jon |date=2022-03-14 |title=Brent Renaud, Yevhenii Sakun, and the grave dangers on the ground in Ukraine |language=en |work=[[Columbia Journalism Review]] |url=https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/brent_renaud_killed_journalists_ukraine.php |access-date=2022-03-16}}</ref> Ukraine state advisor [[Anton Herashchenko]] accused the Russian army of trying to disrupt the city's communication infrastructure.<ref name = LBC>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=1 March 2022 |title=Attack on Kyiv: TV Tower struck by missile as Russia warns residents to flee the capital|url=https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/ukraine-kyiv-tv-tower-russian-missile-attack/ |work=[[LBC]] |location= |access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref> According to ''[[The Kyiv Independent]]'', Ukrainian TV channels' broadcasting was disrupted following the attack.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=1 March 2022 |title=Russian attack hits Kyiv television tower, Ukrainian official says|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/28/us-announces-plan-to-expel-russian-diplomats-from-un-liveblog |work=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]|location= |access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref> It is unknown if the strike intended to topple the tower or if the intent was to disable its transmission and reception systems. The extent of the damage was not immediately apparent, and the tower remained standing. [[File:Kiev_TV_Tower_2.jpg|thumb|Kyiv TV Tower from ground level]]

The [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine)|Ukrainian foreign ministry]] condemned the attack due to its proximity to the memorial to the [[Babi Yar]] massacres. The [[Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center|Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center]] confirmed reports that a second missile had hit the nearby memorial,<ref>{{cite news |last=Gross |first=Judah Ari |title=Russian bombing of Kyiv damages Babi Yar Holocaust memorial |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/russian-bombing-of-kyiv-damages-babi-yar-holocaust-memorial/ |access-date=1 March 2022 |website=[[The Times of Israel]] |language=en-US |issn=0040-7909}}</ref> however there are contradicting reports.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ben-Yishai |first1=Ron |title=Babi Yar memorial said to be undamaged by Russian missile strike |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sk8byetx9 |work=Ynetnews |date=2 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Lattice tower]]
* [[List of tallest towers in the world]]
* [[List of tallest structures in Europe]]
* [[List of tallest freestanding structures in the world]]
* [[List of tallest freestanding steel structures]]
* [[List of transmission sites]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{Commons category-inline|Kyiv TV tower}}
*{{Structurae|id=20014809|title=Kyiv Television Tower}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929100020/http://members.lycos.nl/rtvtower/towers1/kiev.html members.lycos.nl] –  Kyiv Central Radio TV Tower
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20041028093551/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=112289 emporis.com]}} – Kyiv TV Tower
*[https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/russian-strike-on-kyiv-tv-tower ''Russian Strike on the Kyiv TV tower.''] In: forensic-architecture.org, 10 June 2022 (with video).

{{start box}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box
| title=[[Lattice tower|World's tallest lattice tower]]<br/><small>385&nbsp;m (1263&nbsp;ft)</small>
| before=[[Tokyo Tower]]
| after=[[Tokyo Skytree]]
| years=1973–2012}}
{{end box}}

{{Supertall}}

[[Category:Jewish cemeteries in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Jewish cemeteries]]
[[Category:Towers completed in 1973]]
[[Category:Towers in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Radio masts and towers in Europe]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Kyiv]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Kyiv]]
[[Category:Towers built in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Lattice towers]]
[[Category:1973 establishments in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Northern front of the Russian invasion of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Kyiv in the Russian invasion of Ukraine]]