U.N. Security Council Meets again on Ukraine

The U.N. Security Council on Thursday launched another round of closed-door talks on the situation in Ukraine, its fourth such meeting in less than a week.

The meeting, convened at Britain's request, was expected to discuss the mission of U.N. special envoy to Crimea Robert Serry, who was forced to cut short his trip to the region when he was confronted by unidentified gunmen on Wednesday.

U.N. deputy secretary general Jan Eliasson, who was in Ukraine's capital Kiev, was due to brief the 15 council member states by videoconference.

Talks would also touch on what British envoy Mark Lyall Grant called "some very disturbing developments -- the increasing build-up of Russian forces and the decision by the so-called Crimea parliament to allow Crimea to be annexed by Russia."

The last Council meeting on Ukraine, on Monday, did not result in much progress. Russia, a permanent Council member with veto power, dismissed criticism of its actions in Ukraine, and the body did not issue a statement.