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Marco Rubio slammed for posting pics of Zoom call with Zelenskyy after being asked NOT TO

Rubio, 50, shared photos of Zelenskyy speaking to U.S. lawmakers on Twitter, with captions suggesting that they were still on the call

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida was blasted on social media after he shared photos from a virtual meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, even after lawmakers were reportedly asked not to divulge any information due to security concerns. 

Rubio, 50, shared photos of Zelenskyy speaking to U.S. lawmakers on Twitter, with captions suggesting that they were still on the call. Shortly after, it emerged that lawmakers present at the meeting were asked by Ukrainian officials not to share pictures of their embattled leader on Saturday. This comes as Ukraine continues to face relentless attacks by Russian troops, with at least 331 civilians and military personnel killed since the start of Vladimir Putin's invasion.

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Rubio shocked many as he shared a photo of the Zoom call with Zelenskyy early Saturday on Twitter, writing, "On zoom call now with President Zelensky of #Ukraine."

The Florida Republican was excoriated on social media for divulging potentially sensitive information about the Ukrainian president.

"Dude, what the hell is wrong with you? You are the Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, and a Member of the Foreign Relations Committee. You were specifically asked NOT to share this briefing with Zelensky. Why would you risk his safety for a tweet?" former RNC chair Michael Steele tweeted.

"Dear @SenSchumer Please remove @marcorubio from the Senate Intelligence Committee. He isn’t intelligent and he cannot be trusted. Replace him with Romney. Thx," Democrat politician Pam Keith reacted.

"This has been bothering me all day. Senator Rubio couldn't wait even... 2 minutes before taking the pic," author John Scott-Railton added, sharing a zoomed-in screengrab of the meeting.

"Marco Rubio is either an IDIOT or a TRAITOR — or both. What do you think? 🤨" Democrat Jon Cooper offered.

"Mitch McConnell needs to show who’s in charge of the Senate Republicans. He should strip Marco Rubio of his position as Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence — for failing to respect the sensitive nature of the intel on Zelensky’s location," lawyer Tristan Snell wrote.

"Now is [a] good time to remind everyone that @marcorubio was given $1.5M in campaign donations from a Russian Oligarch named Len Blavatnik in 2016, the same time that Rubio sat as Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Connect the dots," singer Ricky Davila chimed in.

"Spineless f***er compromises man who’s basically all spine. Rubio should be dismissed from all intelligence committees for this. He should be censured and called to account. He is selfish egotism made doughy flesh," novelist Michael Marshall Smith added.
 

Following the backlash, Rubio's office denounced his critics saying there were no security issues with the senator's tweet. “There were over 160 members of Congress on a widely reported Zoom call. There was no identifying information of any kind. Anybody pretending this tweet is a security concern is a partisan seeking clicks,” a spokesperson said. In the meeting, Zelenskyy urged U.S. lawmakers to step in as his country was in need of assistance to protect its airspace from Russia and asked the Biden administration to establish a no-fly zone. Furthermore, he also requested more planes and for the U.S. to stop buying Russian oil, The Hill reported.