On June 30 2026 (news broke July 1), Russian 'rooftopper' couple Ivan Kuznetsov (32, aka Ivan Beerkus) and Angelina Nikolau (33) free-climbed — with no ropes or safety equipment — up the outside of New York's Empire State Building to the transmission tower at its top, unfurled a banner with a peace message, and got engaged (the man proposed on one knee, they exchanged rings against the NYC skyline). They came down and were arrested (did not resist), facing eight charges incl. burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, possession of burglar's tools, disorderly conduct. The couple are famous from the 2024 Netflix documentary 'Skywalkers: A Love Story' and are known for prior no-rope climbs of Goldin Finance 117 in Tianjin China and the 2,227-ft Merdeka 118 in Malaysia. The Empire State Building said tenants, visitors and Observation Deck guests were never in danger. Register: thrilling and romantic but genuinely dangerous and illegal — celebrate the spectacle warily and never encourage imitation
A Russian Couple Climbed the Empire State Building and Proposed at the Top
HSK 1 level · 3:24
Key Vocabulary
- 可以 (kěyǐ) — can; may
- 上面 (shàngmiàn) — the top; above
- 下面 (xiàmiàn) — below; underneath
- 站 (zhàn) — to stand
- 坐 (zuò) — to sit; to take (transport)
- 走 (zǒu) — to walk; to leave
- 爬 (pá) — to climb
- 大楼 (dàlóu) — tall building
Grammar Patterns
- 不敢 + Verb (dare not) — Expresses not daring to do something.
- 比 ... 都 + Adj (more Adj than all...) — Superlative comparison.
- 一点一点 + Verb (bit by bit) — Describes a gradual action.
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