Scaling unimaginable heights has long been the identity of this viral Russian couple. In a similar Wednesday morning stunt, two “rooftoppers,” 33-year-old Angela Nikolau and 32-year-old Ivan Beerkus, grabbed the world’s attention as a video of them ascending the iconic New York City landmark, the Empire State Building, while sporting black from head to toe without any harnesses did numbers on social media.

Even at 1,450 feet above the US city, one of the climbers managed to get down on one knee and present a ring to the other in an apparent marriage proposal. Thanks to Nikolau and Beerkus, romantic expectations have now climbed even greater heights, quite literally, as the pair unfurled a massive black banner atop the Empire State Building that read: “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.”

Both participants of the now-viral sky-touching feat have since also shared receipts of their adrenaline-driven stunt on their respective SNS profiles. The New York Police Department (NYPD), for its part, captured the incident in its own signature style via body camera footage, showing the disastrous aftermath awaiting the couple after they professed their love for each other atop one of America’s tallest buildings.

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According to the police, Angela and Ivan were ultimately taken into custody and hit with a barrage of charges, including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and possession of burglar’s tools.

Meet the Russian couple that got engaged atop Empire State Building

Originally from Russia, the masked pair– Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus (or Ivan Kuznetsov) — living in East Orange, New Jersey, have been identified as the subjects of a 2024 documentary called “Skywalkers: A Love Story.” In line with their Wednesday stunt, this Netflix title also captures the “real-life daredevils” testing the limits of their love, trust, and acrobatics as they illegally scaled one of the world’s tallest buildings.

Authorities believe they accessed the building’s antenna through a locked maintenance hatch on the 102nd-floor observation deck.

Back in 2022, the couple made waves for climbing Malaysia’s Merdeka 118, which is more than 2,000 feet tall. In comparison, NYC’s Empire State Building is 1,454 feet tall when including the transmission tower. Hence, the Wednesday marvel was far from being the couple’s first such “skywalking” adventure.

The pair has amassed more than a million Instagram followers owing to their death-defying antics. According to Marie Claire, the duo started climbing together in 2016, the same year they went to China to scale what was then the world’s tallest building under construction.

Bodycam footage of Russian climbers’ NYC arrest

According to a CBS News report, the two were taken into custody before 1 pm local time. While the pair continued their daredevilry on the building’s spire, an absurdly rare development led NYPD personnel to take them into custody at the top of the building, where winds were southwest at 5-10 mph.

Officials wore hard hats and used other safety equipment while reaching them.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch eventually posted the video on social media, offering a “glimpse into the work of our Emergency Service Unit.”

“Hey I got eyes on them,” an ESU members is heard saying in the video. Calling the couple, the official climbs a ladder toward them.

Highlighting the illegality of their stunt, he said, “Hello! How’re you doing? Can you just stay where you are? How’re you doing? Well, you can’t be up here.”

Eventually, Nikolau says, “I’m OK.” An off-camera voice was also heard saying, “We are engaged.”

After the official is seen grabbing her arm, another ESU member asks, “Are you guys going to be cooperative?”

When asked what language they speak, the pair replied, “Russian.”

This wasn’t the first time they’ve gotten in trouble with law enforcement for partaking in such a “roof-topping” feat. “We’ve been arrested before,” Nikolau says in Netflix’s Skywalkers: A Love Story.

An Empire State Building spokesperson addressed the incident following the Russian couple’s arrest: “The unauthorised 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,” as quoted by CBS News.

The statement continued, “It is to be emphasised 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.”

Taking a dig at the once-again-arrested couple, the official Empire State Building Observation Deck X account tweeted: “BREAKING: You can get the best view in NYC without a felony.”