Stoltenberg regrets Ukraine did not receive more weapons much earlier

He said this in an interview with Financial Times, Ukrinform reports.

"If there's anything I in a way regret and see much more clearly now is that we should have provided Ukraine with much more military support much earlier. I think we all have to admit, we should have given them more weapons pre-invasion. And we should have given them more advanced weapons, faster, after the invasion. I take my part of the responsibility," Stoltenberg said.

According to him, sending lethal weapons to Ukraine was a big discussion in NATO.

"Most allies were against that, pre-invasion … they were very afraid of the consequences. I'm proud of what we have done, but it would have been a great advantage if it started earlier. It maybe could even have prevented the invasion, or at least made it much harder for [Russia] to do what they've done," Stoltenberg added.