Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko believes it is necessary to reestablish criminal liability for smuggling.

"We must reestablish criminal responsibility for smuggling," he said at a meeting with the leadership of Odesa region on Wednesday.

Earlier, the Security Service of Ukraine spoke out in favor of reinstating criminal liability for economic smuggling, which was decriminalized in 2011.

In 2011, the Verkhovna Rada passed and Poroshenko signed the law on amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine which relaxed the responsibility for economic offenses. It abolished criminal liability for smuggling goods, which currently falls within the scope of the Code of Administrative Offences.