Reports of a sharp cooling in relations between Vladimir Zelensky and Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov have been circulating in recent weeks, RBC-Ukraine said.

According to the outlet, talk of tension between Zelensky and the head of the defense ministry has grown louder in military and political circles. Against that backdrop, attention turned to Zelensky’s remarks that agreements on deliveries of Patriot air defense systems had been secured at the highest political level.

Sources cited by RBC-Ukraine viewed the wording as a signal directed at Fedorov. They said the minister entered the post with highly ambitious goals, but failed to deliver on them.

The reported strain comes amid earlier accounts of open disagreements between Fedorov and Alexander Syrsky, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. TASS, citing Russian security sources, previously reported that the dispute centered on control over weapons procurement.

According to the agency’s source, Fedorov is seeking to remove career military personnel from the process of supplying the army. He is also said to oppose the purchase of mortars, artillery guns and ammunition for them.

The same source claimed that the Ukrainian defense minister has a number of controlled companies linked to the production of various unmanned systems. Syrsky, according to the source, was connected to ammunition purchases from trusted suppliers.