Did the Cold War ever go hot?

The Cold War never went hot in the sense of direct, full-scale war between the United States and the Soviet Union, which is why it is called cold, but it did go hot many times through proxy wars and direct military confrontations that killed millions. The superpowers avoided direct combat because both had nuclear weapons and understood that a direct war would lead to mutually assured destruction. However, they fought each other indirectly through proxy wars where each supported opposing sides. The Korean War from 1950 to 1953 was a hot war where US troops fought North Korean and Chinese troops backed by the Soviets, killing over 3 million. The Vietnam War from 1955 to 1975 was another hot proxy war where the US fought North Vietnam supported by the USSR and China. Other hot conflicts included the Soviet-Afghan War where the US armed the mujahideen against the Soviets, wars in Angola, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, and numerous covert operations. There were also direct near-hot moments like the Berlin Airlift, the Cuban Missile Crisis where US and Soviet ships faced off, and the shooting down of U-2 spy planes and Korean Air Lines Flight 007. So while Washington and Moscow never exchanged direct large-scale fire, the Cold War was very hot for people in the countries where proxy wars were fought, with over 20 million deaths attributed to Cold War conflicts.