NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the biggest risk "if Putin wins."

"Some are worried that our support for Ukraine could run the risk of escalation. Let me be clear: there are no options without risk, but the biggest risk is if Putin wins," he said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

According to the NATO Secretary General, Putin's victory will be a signal to other authoritarian regimes that force can be used to achieve what they want.

"That will make the world more dangerous and us more vulnerable. So it is in our security interest to support Ukraine," he said.

Stoltenberg also said the Kremlin seeks to create a different Europe, where the Russian Federation will control its neighbours.

"We know that Beijing is watching closely the war in Ukraine. Because if President Putin wins there, it will impact the calculations and decisions they will make in Beijing. So when authoritarian powers are coming closer, working more closely together, it's even more important that all of us that believe in democracy and freedom, that we stand together in NATO and with our partners throughout the world," he said.

The NATO Secretary General also said the war in Ukraine showed the danger of excessive dependence on authoritarian regimes, in particular, calling the import of Russian gas a political and security issue.

"And we should make sure that we don't repeat those mistakes with other authoritarian regimes, like China. But the most important lesson to be learned is the importance of North America and Europe standing together," he said.

According to Stoltenberg, the most important lesson of the war in Ukraine is that North America and Europe must show unity.

"There is no security in Europe without NATO. And the only way to preserve peace, to ensure our security, is to ensure that North America continues to stand together in NATO," he said.