Uprising in Russia 'difficult to assess': German minister

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius says it is too early to guess the possible consequences of the armed uprising of the mercenary Wagner army in Russia and what this may mean for the Kremlin's war on Ukraine, reported dpa.

"That is difficult to assess, especially since we do not know how unstable Russia will become and who will ultimately have the upper hand and who will join forces with whom," he said on the sidelines of a party conference of Lower Saxony's Social Democrats.

It was too early to make an assessment, Pistorius said. "If you did that now, you would cloud the open view for what is actually happening."

In response to a question about Germany's options, the minister said, "In this situation, there are no options for us to act. It is a domestic political conflict in Russia. We cannot yet say whether it will develop into a power struggle. We are observers. We are watching very closely just like all other allies and otherwise keeping our eyes on supporting Ukraine."