Two GOP senators share photos from Zoom call with Zelensky despite requests not to
Republican Sens.
Marco Rubio (Fla.) and
Steve Daines (Mont.) shared photos from U.S lawmakers' virtual meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after they were reportedly asked not to do so due to security concerns.
Both senators shared photos of Zelensky speaking to Congress on Twitter with captions indicating that they were on the call.
Multiple aides
told NBC News lawmakers present were directed by Ukrainian officials not to share pictures of the president.
Rubio’s office denounced the criticism of the senator's tweet, saying there were no security issues with the post.
“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 for Rubio said.
During the meeting, Zelensky said that his country was in need of assistance to protect its airspace and asked the U.S. to establish a no-fly zone. He also requested more planes and for the U.S. to stop buying Russian oil.
“President Zelenskyy made a desperate plea for Eastern European countries to provide Russian-made planes to Ukraine. These planes are very much needed. And I will do all I can to help the administration to facilitate their transfer,” Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement following the call.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misidentified senators who shared the images during the call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This version has been updated.Republican…
thehill.com