Celia Hatton

But the clothes are the most important part.

I hope that it will help for someone to survive.

To find out how soldiers view these gifts, we spoke to Vlad, currently serving in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region, the main focus of Russia's invasion.

He and his unit have taken part in the Secret Sander program twice already.

He says, with things tougher than ever now on the battlefield, gifts like these can be a vital boost.

The state of morale is tough now.

The enemy's pushing us from all sides.

Presents from Secret Santa are something that lift troops' spirits.

So of course we're waiting for our gifts.

He's worried it'll be a rough Christmas.

He says the Russians always try to disrupt holidays with attacks so the troops can never really relax.

But Vlad insists he's not just going to receive gifts.

He's sending some home too.

How can I leave my girls without any gifts for the new year?

I'm planning to give my wife a chain and my daughter little earrings.

Toby Luckhurst in Kiev.

It's been a theme of 2025, gold hitting record prices, and it's just happened again.

So is this a sign that the world is on tenderhooks waiting for a possible banking collapse or something more innocuous?

Our business correspondent is Theo Leggett.

Well, Celia, the latest record was a little above $4,420 an ounce.