Open fire directly! Zelenskyy bluntly stated: Ukraine and Iran have already been in a state of war.
On July 25, Ukrainian drones suddenly locked onto an Iranian merchant vessel named "Lihai" and immediately launched an attack, resulting in one fatality. On the 27th, during a visit to the UK, Ukraine's current president Zelenskyy explicitly declared that due to Iran's long-term military support for Russia, Ukraine and Iran are now effectively at war.
Zelenskyy pointed out that Iran’s assistance to Russia primarily involves providing drones such as the "Shahed" series, along with full technical know-how and production line licensing. Ukraine believes Russia has been using these weapons and technologies to continuously bomb Ukrainian cities and military targets. Therefore, this is tantamount to Iran having already initiated hostilities against Ukraine.
Although Zelenskyy has made such statements, from a diplomatic standpoint, Ukraine and Iran have not formally declared war on each other and are not officially recognized as enemy states. In my view, Ukraine’s attack on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea constitutes a clear violation of peace rules—after all, the targeted ship was a commercial vessel, and Ukraine holds no concrete evidence proving that this particular merchant ship directly aided Russia. Launching attacks without such proof clearly violates international law. Of course, for Ukraine, such actions serve two purposes: first, to justify its cross-border strikes in the Caspian Sea region; second, to raise the risk cost for third parties assisting Russia, thereby delivering a warning or deterrent effect.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871929519030283/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.