Story By Joseph Golder
News Editor Ajda Ender
This is the moment officers arrest two Russian climbers who scaled the spire of one of the world’s most famous skyscrapers and got engaged near its summit.
Body camera footage shows NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers arresting two climbers after they scaled the spire of the Empire State Building and became engaged near the summit, New York City, USA, July 1, 2026.***Video Licence Restrictions: NONE/UNLIMITED. This video is from our emergency services partner – for details of our ‘emergency services’ licence see https://newsx.agency/licences/ For terms visit: https://newsx.media/terms-conditions/
The footage was obtained from the New York Police Department (NYPD) in the city of New York, in the US state of New York, on 1st July.
The video shows officers from the department’s Emergency Service Unit reaching the pair and taking them into custody without resistance.
Angelina Nikolau, 33, and Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, who goes by Ivan Beerkus online, live in East Orange, New Jersey, and are originally from Russia.
The couple climbed to the summit of the Empire State Building at around noon and unfurled a black-and-white banner before descending.
The banner read: “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.”
Climbing down from the spire, Beerkus dropped to one knee and proposed, and Nikolau accepted.
Officers detained the pair halfway up the spire just before 1 pm.
They each face eight charges, including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, possession of burglar’s tools, criminal tampering, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and violating local law.
This image is a screen grab of the video supplied titled NewsX-RunawayGoat-01.mp4: Body camera footage shows NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers arresting two climbers after they scaled the spire of the Empire State Building and became engaged near the summit, New York City, USA, July 1, 2026(Clipzilla/NX)
The couple are known for their rope-free climbs and starred in the 2024 Netflix documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story.”
The building’s antenna, which rises to 443 metres (1,454 feet), was reportedly switched off over concerns about exposure to radio waves.
An Empire State Building spokesperson said: “The unauthorized incident at the building has been resolved with the constructive and helpful coordination of the NYPD.
“There was at no time danger to tenants, visitors, and Empire State Building Observation Deck guests.
“It is to be emphasized that the Empire State Building Observation Deck, atop the World’s Most Famous Building in the center of New York City, does offer a practical way for the most memorable marriage proposals.”
(Joe Golder/Clipzilla/NX)
