NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg names three lessons he believes NATO can already learn from the war in Ukraine.

He warned of the danger of underestimating Russia during President Vladimir Putin’s “war of aggression against Ukraine.”

"Let me share three lessons I believe we can already learn from the war in Ukraine.

First, we need to invest even more in defence. That has been NATO's message for a long time. And you've heard me talk about that many times before. Now I also think that everyone sees that we need a stronger defence. With troops at higher readiness. Modern equipment. And well-trained soldiers. It costs money.

The second lesson is that it is dangerous to depend on authoritarian regimes. It was not long ago that many believed that buying gas from Russia was purely a commercial matter. The reality is that it is a political issue. It is about our safety. Business is also politics.

We must not repeat this mistake with other authoritarian regimes. Not least China. We must not make ourselves vulnerable by becoming too dependent on critical raw materials and products. We must not export technology that can, in turn, be used to threaten us. We must not lose control of critical infrastructure, which is essential both for civil society and for military activity. Like ports, railways, telecommunications – 5G networks.

We will still trade with China. But it must be done in ways that do not undermine our security. It is a shared responsibility. The authorities have a responsibility to establish rules and frameworks. But the companies also have an independent responsibility to exercise due diligence. We cannot take as a starting point that every profitable project should be carried out – just because it is profitable. Short-term economic interests cannot trump fundamental national interests. It is often said that war is too serious to be left to generals.Similarly, we can say that business activities are too serious to be left to business leaders alone.

The third lesson is that authoritarian regimes have increased their cooperation. A couple of weeks before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, President Putin and President Xi met in Beijing. They announced a strategic partnership with ‘no-limits’. Russia and China train and operate more together militarily. They have an increasing economic cooperation. And China has not condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On the contrary, they promote the Russian narrative, which puts the blame on NATO. And China has for the first time backed Russia's demand that NATO closes its door to new member states.

Not only is the cooperation between Russia and China strengthening, but Russia is also building closer ties with other authoritarian regimes, such as Iran and North Korea. These are different regimes. But they have in common that they promote an alternative world order. They advocate values ​​that violate our belief in freedom and democracy.

In a more dangerous world, it is all the more important that we, who believe in freedom and democracy, stand together. Not because we are always right. Not because we never make mistakes. Nor because we always agree. But because we share the same values. And because we are so much stronger together than alone. NATO represents 50 percent of the world's economic power and 50 percent of the world's military power. In a way, that is half the world brought together to secure peace for each other. And to continue to preserve our freedom and democracy," Stoltenberg said in a speech at a business conference in Oslo, Norway.

"So, as long as we look after NATO, NATO will look after us all," he added.