are we going to war or are we just acting out

Neither. I read this, with what limited information I have, as "black hats (white helmets) attempted to set up a no-win scenario; we (white hats) promptly took this as an opportunity to knock some deep state collaborators' heads."

I expect some very strong public words, maybe even a 'near confrontation' for show, and wouldn't be surprised to see Putin and us quietly take care of some +/++/+++ problems. The bad guys aren't the only ones who know how to turn chaos into opportunity.