Ukrainian military personnel shot down Iranian-designed Shahed drones in multiple Middle Eastern countries during the Iran war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, describing the operations as part of a broader effort to help partners counter the same weapons used by Russia in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy made his first public acknowledgment of the operations Wednesday in remarks to reporters that were embargoed until Friday. He said Ukrainian forces took part in active operations abroad using domestically produced interceptor drones proven in countering Iranian-designed Shahed drones used by Russia in Ukraine.
“This was not about a training mission or exercises, but about support in building a modern air defence system that can actually work,” Zelenskyy said.
No, it is not an act of war. Article 51 of the UN Charter explicitly grant right to self defence. Inviting other nations to assist in that defence is a right granted by the UN Charter. Iran can obviously consider Ukranian personal as hostile, that is their prerogative, but that does not mean that shooting down drone in self defence is an act of war.
Iran is not the agressor in this war though, so its not self defence on the side of Israel and its allies.
Iran is the aggressor against the gulf state. No gulf state has made aggressive action against Iran, and there was no military action from gulf states except self defence. All gulf states have no interest in getting involved in the conflict and asked for deescalation at the UN. In a joint declaration from the middle east council on global affairs:
When Iran decided to attach civilian targets totally unrelated with the conflict then it became aggressor. Iran can be the aggressor and the target of war at the same time.