The picture in Syria is getting bubblier and bubblier, particularly between two superpowers vying to be the one who sinks their respective puppets’ adversaries, the Islamic State (ISIS) and their terror deep into a steaming hole in the Middle Eastern sand.

Basically, Russia — who just joined the party in bombing ISIS and their counterparts in Syria on Wednesday — told the United States (paraphrasing here) “look, we’re going to start doing this so get out of our way”. The U.S. retorted, however, (paraphrasing again) and was like “yeah, no, we’re going to ignore that preposterous request and remain doing what we’re doing because we were here first, don’t need you, and you’re late to the party anyway”.

The strategic airstrikes in the region that Russia just began cooking up are further displeasing to the Pentagon for this reason: they don’t believe that Putin and company are targeting areas held by ISIS forces at all. In their own words — from the mouth of Secretary of Defense Ash Carter — Russia is “pouring gasoline on a fire”.

And you know what happens when you pour gasoline on a flame. It gets bigger. It explodes. It becomes uncontrollable and wild.

Remember, Putin has been extremely open that he and his nation are behind Syria’s megalomaniacal “leader” Bashar al-Assad, president and commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces — the primary forced opposing the U.S.-backed Syrian rebels.

In other words, the U.S. suspects that Putin and his forces are using ISIS as a decoy in their backing of Assad, and in the process, killing innocent civilians.

More from NBC News:

Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. would have “grave concerns should Russia strike” areas where ISIS wasn’t operating.

“Strikes of that kind would question Russia’s real intentions fighting ISIL or protecting the Assad regime,” he said, using another name for ISIS.

Later on Wednesday, Carter told reporters that Russia was wrong to back Assad. “Fighting ISIL without pursuing a parallel political transition only risks escalating civil war in Syria,” he said.

Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov confirmed his nation’s warplanes were “conducting an air operation with surgical strikes on ground targets of the terrorist group ISIS” in key Middle East ally Syria.

He added that “ISIS’s military equipment, communication hubs, transportation, and ammo and fuel depots” were being targeted.

One can only hope that Russia’s involvement doesn’t further worsen the already fraught and testy relationship with the United States.