Operation Virtuous Mission

You land alone in Soviet jungle. Your backpack got caught in a tree during the drop — climb up to retrieve it before moving on.

• Take this area slowly to get used to the camouflage and crouch/crawl controls; there's no real threat here yet.
• Head north through the swamp (Dremuchij Swampland), avoiding the local wildlife, and continue into Dremuchij North where the first Soviet patrollers show up.

Your objective is the suspension bridge at Dolinovodno, heavily watched by patrolling guards.

• Shoot the beehives along the approach to bait guards into getting swarmed — a clean distraction that clears the way without firing a shot at anyone.

• Before crossing, check the slopes beneath the bridge for a hidden weapon cache.

  Bee Hive Distraction

  Damaging a beehive near a patrol route sends the swarm after whichever guard is closest, giving you a free window to move.

Crossing the bridge leads to the abandoned Rassvet factory, where the scientist Sokolov is being held.

• Locate and extract Sokolov — this is the mission's primary objective.

• After the rescue, a scripted encounter introduces a young Major Ocelot.

  Virtuous Mission Ends in Defeat

  What follows is a story beat, not a failure state: your mentor, The Boss, defects to the Soviets on the spot and shoots Snake, who's thrown from the bridge into the river below. There's nothing to prevent here — just let the scene play out.