World War III has, apparently, been averted. Despite the high-decibel squawks emanating from the Kremlin, at London Prime Minister Sunak has backtracked on remarks made by his new defense minister, Grant Shapps, to the effect that British troops could carry out training missions in Ukraine.

Mr. Shapps, whom Mr. Sunak appointed only last month, said in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph that in addition to training Ukrainian armed forces in Britain or other Western countries, he wished to deploy military instructors to Ukraine itself. 

That suggestion set off alarm bells at Moscow, mainly ones rung by a former Russian president who is a mouthpiece for President Putin, Dmitry Medvedev. Mr. Medvedev stated on social media, “One newly minted cretin, the British Minister of Defense — decided to transfer English training courses for Ukrainian soldiers to the territory of Ukraine itself.”

“These idiots are actively pushing us towards a Third World War,” he added. Beyond the bluster, Mr. Medvedev also wrote that the presence of British troops in Ukraine would “turn their instructors into a legal target for our armed forces.”

Just hours after Mr. Shapps’s interview was published, Mr. Sunak said there were no immediate plans to send British troops to Ukraine. In subsequent remarks, the prime minister, who faces growing opposition within the ranks of his own ruling Conservative Party, appeared eager to dial back tensions. “What the defense secretary was saying was that it might well be possible one day in the future for us to do some of that training in Ukraine,” Mr. Sunak told reporters at the start of the Tories’ annual conference at Manchester.

He added, “That’s something for the long term, not the here and now. There are no British soldiers that will be sent to fight in the current conflict.”

In any case, that the prime minister felt he needed to weigh in, and so quickly, on the words of one of his senior ministers underscores a lack of cohesiveness and a British political atmosphere pregnant with political maneuvering. 

Regardless of whether he was in consultation with Mr. Sunak, at Manchester Mr. Shapps attempted to clarify his views, saying with respect to Ukraine, “Particularly in the west of the country, I think the opportunity now is to bring more things ‘in country.’” He also said the war in Ukraine was consuming weapons and people “at an appalling rate,” but that “we must remain steadfast” in supporting the country in its ongoing war against Russia.

The tussle between London and Moscow is characterized by frequent verbal jousting between capitals, but not only. Speaking at the Tory parley on Sunday Mr. Shapps said that he hoped British defense companies such as BAE Systems would proceed with plans to set up arms factories in Ukraine. Regardless of whether that was a taunt, only last week Russia included the BAE chairwoman, Cressida Hogg, on a list of 23 British nationals the country’s foreign ministry banned from entering Russia in retaliation for sanctions. 

Also blacklisted was Britain’s chief of defense staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, whom Moscow accused of “supervising” the training of Ukrainian troops in Britain.

On September 30, President Zelensky announced the creation of an Alliance of Defense Industries, launched by 13 companies, that “can be joined by manufacturers of weapons and military equipment from all over the world who share our intention — to provide real protection against aggression.”

In the meantime, the developments in Ukraine demonstrate that all this has not been idle chatter. On Monday Russia claimed to have repelled a number of Ukrainian counterattacks in the Donetsk region, particularly around Bakhmut and Avdiivka. A Russian military spokesman’s claim that Ukraine lost “over 300 soldiers” in eight foiled assaults could not be independently confirmed. 

Yet Bakhmut is once again the scene of the most violent fighting in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian press reports, Moscow has pumped more than 10,000 troops, regular soldiers and Wagner group mercenaries included, into the area. Along with their armored vehicles, these assault units may not only have been amassed to resist the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive but also possibly to launch a new offensive in the eastern region. 

Russian forces also shelled several communities in Ukraine’s Sumy region, near the county’s northeastern border with Russia.

Tensions have been rising inside Russia too. On Sunday the country was targeted by another wave of Ukrainian drones and shelling, wounding three people and forcing one major airport to divert flights.