[1] Following the victory of Nestor Makhno's insurgent forces at the battle of Dibrivka, in November 1918, Pravda gathered a partisan band around himself and occupied the Mennonite colony of Schönfeld.
[7] Pravda returned to Schönfeld on 29 November and moved into the house of the Warkentin family, who had since fled to Molotschna, turning the village into their headquarters.
[9] From Schönfeld, Pravda's followers carried out a series of raids on nearby villages, often killing innocent people that were known by the local colonists or publicly executing Russian landowners.
[13] On 21 January 1919, reports started to circulate that a unit of the Selbstschutz was arriving to liberate Schönfeld, but Pravda's detachment defeated it in battle.
[23] Following the battle of Peregonovka and the insurgent capture of much of southern Ukraine, on 24 October 1919, Pravda's detachment occupied the Mennonite colony of Jasykowo.