A window on war: Builder in the besieged Ukrainian town of Hostomel films a video diary chronicling the horrors of the conflict from his lounge in the days before he was shot in the leg by a Russian sniper

• Eduard Lysovyk began making a video diary of the war in Ukraine from his apartment building in the suburb of Hostomel on the outskirts of Kiev when the conflict began on February 24 
• From his front room, his pictures and footage chart the full horrors of war including one shot of a bullet-riddled car with the body of an 18-year-old man behind the wheel as he fled the fighting with his gran
• Other shots show burning buildings from Russian shelling and huge plumes of black smoke rising from Hostomel Airport which has been bombed in the shelling
• Eduard’s pictures include the more mundane aspect of life under siege with his wife Iryna and others in the neighbourhood collect food and other essentials – including a welcome bottle of Al Capone whisky 
• On March 4 and under bombardment from the Russians, Eduard moves Iryna to a basement bomb shelter. But during the process he is shot at by a sniper whose bullet shatters his leg
• With a shattered thigh-bone and unable to walk the builder endures hours of intense pain while shooting continues outside
• The pictures conclude with Eduard’s leg strapped up and him lying on a bed in a special hospital in Bila Tserkva, some 50 miles south of Hostomel 

Just a month ago Eduard Lysovyk was an unremarkable sometime builder living in an apartment building in the suburb of Hostomel on the outskirts of Kiev.

But then the Russian invasion began and the proximity of the strategically important Antonov Airport to his home meant that his quiet suburb was suddenly transformed into the frontline of a warzone as the attacking Russian army and defenders of Ukraine fought bitterly over its control.

And brave Eduard using just a mobile phone and filming from his apartment window managed to record an extraordinary first hand video and photographic diary of these events – as his home repeatedly came under fire, his neighbours were killed and he himself was wounded by a sniper’s bullet.

From his front room window the 59-year-old took pictures and footage of aircraft flying overhead as Russian paratroopers landed at nearby Hostomel Airport where a fierce battle raged.

Now MailOnline has obtained his video and photo archive which give a unique perspective on the opening days of the conflict.

This is his diary of events as he recorded them:

24 February

Eduard’s record begins as Russian aircraft, armoured vehicles and troops poured across the border in an attempt to seize the Ukrainian capital.

25 February

Eduard spots a family car with shattered windows and riddled with bullet holes that had come to a halt outside his home. In the front seat is the corpse of an 18-year-old boy who has been shot in the eye and killed by Russian soldiers as he tried to flee the fighting with his grandmother.

The traumatised woman had survived the bullets being fired at the car that killed her grandson – and had somehow managed to continue driving for several miles before finally coming to a standstill outside Eduard’s.

He and neighbours call an ambulance which arrives to take the woman to hospital. But the medical teams are already so hard pressed they are having to prioritise the living over the dead it is left to Eduard himself to take the body of the young man to the local morgue. He is buried the next day.

27 February

Eduard films huge plumes of black smoke flowing from Hostomel Airport where Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to fight for control.

An apartment building neighbouring Eduard and Iryna’s home. Residents of the blocks were later forced to take shelter in a basement (left). Smoke pours from the nearby Hostomel airport where an intense battle for control is taking place (right)

28 February 

Eduard’s wife Iryna and others in the neighbourhood collect food and other essentials – including a welcome bottle of Al Capone whisky – from local town hall officials. With the power cut off in their apartment Iryna makes soup on a camping stove using a canister of gas.

Family pictures on the walls of the Lysovks’ apartment are a reminder of happier times as they were under attack (left). As power supplies failed Iryna improvises a camping stove to cook from using a cannister of camping gas (right)

1 March

Eduard films family cars with smashed windows that have been abandoned on the road after they had been fired on. Their bodywork is visibly riddled with bullet holes. Dead bodies are visible inside some of the vehicles The corpses of other civilians are strewn along the highway. His footage appears to corroborate claims that Russian soldiers have been shooting at civilian vehicles.

Eduard sees seven cars that had come under fire and left the road. Some had been hit by bullets and some occupants are thought to have been killed

2 March

Eduard captures Hostomel mayor Yuriy Prylupko giving out food – potatoes and preserved vegetables – in his neighbourhood. As the battle rages around the suburb supplies of food are getting critically low so these handouts are crucial to Eduard and his neighbours. He also photographs Ukrainian soldiers passing through his area on their way to the frontline. Some brave residents ask if they can get weapons instead of food so they can join the defence of Ukraine. 

Just days after Eduaud films him, Mayor Prylypko would be shot dead by Russian soldiers at another food distribution point.

3 March

Russian soldiers have now driven into Eduard’s actual street. He films armoured vehicles rolling along from his apartment’s window. A neighbouring apartment block can be seen on fire from shelling. Soldiers have been shooting at civilian buildings, leaving bullet holes in windows, walls and fences. The Lysovyks’ CCTV cameras show Russian troops moving into their building.

4 March

Eduard and Iryan have spent the night in fear hidden in their bathroom. Their dog is plainly terrified at the regular commotion and bangs outside. The couple decide to flee their flat for the safety of a bomb shelter. Eduard helps 59-year-old Iryna out and over to the basement bomb shelter before returning to help an elderly neighbour make the same dangerous walk to safety.

Having managed two trips without mishap, at this point his luck runs out. Eduard needs to make a phone call and steps beyond the safety of the bomb shelter’s doorway to get a better signal. A sniper sees him and – despite it being plain he’s a civilian – fires directly at him. The bullet causes him to immediately collapse but there is no way to get him to medical help so he is dragged back into the basement shelter by his terrified neighbours.

Eduard and Iryan’s dog is plainly terrified at the regular commotion and bangs outside before the couple go to a bomb shelter

5 March

With a shattered thigh-bone and unable to walk the builder endures hours of intense pain while shooting continues outside.

6 March

Russian soldiers burst into their underground shelter. One of the invaders stands over Eduard, whose shattered leg is tied with make-shift bandages, and claims: ‘We have come to protect you.’ His furious wife Iryna angrily replies: ‘Protect us from what? From our homes?’ Eduard is finally given some medical attention by a medic among the Russian group – a single dose of antibiotics and a change of dressing – but after 48 hours of suffering there is still no pain relief.

In the bomb shelter Iryna (left) does her best to look after her husband Eduard (right) after he is shot by a Russian sniper

11 March

Eduard is finally seen by a doctor who says the damage to his leg is so extensive he needs to get to hospital urgently. But the situation outside with fighting close by means this is still not possible.

14 March

Having now spent a week in agony in the cramped shelter Eduard is finally able to be safely evacuated. He is taken to a special hospital in Bila Tserkva, some 50 miles south.

Today

From his hospital bed Eduard tells MailOnline how his photographic diary of the first days of Russian invasion was a true account of the horrors of war.

Eduard says: ‘My pictures and video show what really happened. They show how the young boy in the car was killed just trying to get away. And how the Russians shot at other civilians trying to escape. They show how people were cared for by our mayor. They show the Russians shoot and kill us. This is the truth.’

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