UNITED NATIONS, July 26. /TASS/. The United Kingdom, which holds the rotating presidency in the UN Security Council this month, is trying to prevent speakers invited by Russia from giving their testimony during Wednesday’s session on Ukraine’s persecution of the canonic Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a senior Russian diplomat said.

"We applied for participation of two speakers with personal experience of being persecuted by the Kiev regime. I am not going to disclose their names at this point to save them from pressure of [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky’s regime," Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said. "However, the UK presidency has already begun its dirty procedural games to prevent our speakers [from participating]."

"It appears that the truth is hard for them to swallow. We’ll see what it all comes up to. We are not going to do their bidding," Russia’s first deputy UN envoy said.

The session is being convened on Russia’s initiative. Earlier, UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations Barbara Woodward said another UN Security Council session, devoted to the termination of the Black Sea grain transportation deal, will also be held on the same day.

In late March 30, the authorities terminated the lease agreement with the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church and demanded that the monks leave the monastery. The UOC monks refused to follow the demands, dubbing them as illegal. Both sides took the case to court. On April 1, the Ukrainian Security Service charged the abbot with inciting religious hatred and justifying Russia’s actions. He was placed under round-the-clock house arrest for 60 days, which was extended several times. On June 30, Kiev’s district court once again extended the abbot’s house arrest for two more months. Metropolitan Pavel said that he had received an offer from law enforcers to close his case provided that he would no longer speak out against the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and its head Epifany. On July 13, the Ukrainian Security Service charged the abbot with repeatedly violating the equal rights of citizens based on religious beliefs and with justifying Russia’s actions, and filed a request to remand the archbishop in custody.

Archpriest Nikita Chekman, a lawyer for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, said last week that Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra monastery, had been placed in pretrial detention.