Russians in the UAE have joined in with the current trend for Twitter jokes from government officials, with a post from embassy staff mocking Nato's claim that there are thousands of Putin's troops in Ukraine.

The tweet said: 'NATO's latest evidence of Russian armor invading Ukraine has been leaked! Seems to be the most convincing ever!', together with a picture of toy tanks and troop carriers.

The message, at the time of writing, had been retweeted almost 1,000 times.

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Mocking: A joke tweet from the Russian Embassy in the UAE

One Twitter user fired back at the embassy, quipping: 'A tweeted claim as accurate as everything else coming out of the Russian government.'

Another, meanwhile, did not see the funny side, writing: 'An official account mocking a tragedy. How shameful. Shows the lack of sensitivity of the Russian state.'

It follows Russia responding to a sarcastic tweet by Canadian NATO officials that mocked their excuse that troops had mistakenly wandered into Ukraine with its own map of the area.

The Twitter account Russians at NATO posted the map, which shows the Crimea region that was annexed by Russia in March, as part of Russian territory.

It comes with an explanation they are helping Canadian colleagues 'catch up with the contemporary geography of Europe'.

The social media spat began last week when the official NATO account of Canada tweeted a colour-coded map, marked in block letters to clearly show that Ukraine was 'NOT RUSSIA' and that Russia was indeed 'RUSSIA'.

Russia has responded to Canada's mocking tweet by posing their own map of the area, showing the annexed Crimea region as part of Russia territory

Canadian officials at NATO had posted this sarcastic tweet with a map showing that Ukraine was 'NOT RUSSIA' and that Russia was 'RUSSIA' in response to claims that Russian soldiers found themselves in Ukraine by mistake

It was accompanied by the explanation: 'Geography can be tough. Here's a guide for Russian soldiers who keep getting lost and 'accidentally' enter Ukraine.'

The tweet went viral, being retweeted more than 31,000 times, including by U.S. U.N. ambassador Samantha Power.

But Russia struck back by tweeting its own map of the country, showing Crimea, which was annexed from Ukraine in March, as part of its own territory.

It was also followed up with the caption: 'Helping our Canadian colleagues to catch up with contemporary geography of #Europe @CanadaNATO'

The map also shows shaded areas where Abkhazia and South Ossetia are located, which have declared their independence from Georgia but still contain Russian forces after a conflict in 2008.

They also posted: 'BTW why not share Canadian experience of "asymmetrical federalism" with #Kiev's authorities @CanadaNATO'

Last month the British Embassy in Washington sent a message on Twitter from its official account with a photograph of a White House cake, flanked by British and American flags and surrounded by sparkler fireworks. It was sent on the 200th anniversary of British troops burning the presidential palace

Canada's tweet came after 10 Russian soldiers were captured in Ukraine, with Moscow insisting they had mistakenly wandered across the border.

Last month the British Embassy in Washington sent a message on Twitter from its official account with a photograph of a White House cake, flanked by British and American flags and surrounded by sparkler fireworks.

A caption accompanying the photograph, revealed by the Telegraph newspaper, read: ‘Commemorating the 200th anniversary of burning the White House. Only sparklers this time!’

The message was sent on the two hundredth anniversary of Britain capturing the US capital and setting fire to the President’s iconic address.