[1] In the wake of the 1917 Revolution, Petrenko returned to his home town and joined the local anarchist group, with which he took an active part in the uprising against the Ukrainian State.

[9] Surrounded on all sides by different enemies, Petrenko himself was assigned command of the northern front against the Ukrainian People's Army and quickly came to lead about 10,000 partisans of varying left-wing political affiliations.

[10] During his time as commander, Petrenko reported a lack of discipline among the insurgent rank-and-file, complaining of hours-long delays in following orders.

[14] On 17 October, Petrenko led a mixed detachment of infantry, machine guns and artillery in an attack against the Drozdov Division, routing them and retaking the insurgent capital.

[16] The insurgents were forced to adapt to guerrilla warfare against the Red Army, with Makhno himself taking Petrenko under his wing and teaching him their new strategy.

A small core around Makhno made the decision to flee into exile and began their retreat towards the border, under constant attack by the Red Army.