After drone clash, is direct Russia-US confrontation more likely?

Kyiv, Ukraine – It looked like a deliberate manoeuvre by a skilled pilot that led to the first direct military clash between the United States and Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine. Two Russian fighter jets approached a US drone flying in the cloudless, azure sky over international waters in the Black Sea on Tuesday morning. One of the Russian Su-27s released a stream of jet fuel on the MQ-9 Reaper drone, causing its cameras to shut off. Then the Su-27 hit the Reaper's propeller, causing it to tumble into the sea, the Pentagon said. It said the Reaper was a "reconnaissance drone" and carried no arms, although the unmanned aircraft with a wingspan of 26 metres (85 feet) was designed as a "hunter-killer" armed with laser-guided bombs and missiles.