10 March 2014
Last updated at 16:01 ET
"All Awacs [Airborne Warning and Control System] reconnaissance flights will take place solely over alliance territory," the official said.
It comes as Russia cements its control of Ukraine's Crimea ahead of Sunday's referendum to join Russia. Ukraine and the West say this is illegal.
Pro-Russian troops are also blockading Ukrainian troops across Crimea, which is an autonomous region.
Moscow has officially denied that its troops are taking part in the blockades, describing the armed men with no insignia as Crimea's "self-defence" forces.
The government in Kiev - as well as the US and EU - accuse Russia of invading Ukraine, in violation of international law.
'Enhance awareness' Nato said the surveillance flights would "enhance the alliance's situational awareness".
The hospital director said he was forced onto a bus and kept there for half-an-hour.
The attackers also herded staff into a reception to apparently meet "the new directors", Ukraine's Interfax-Ukraina news agency reports.
Separately, pro-Russian troops tried to capture a military transport base in Bahkchysarai, a town between Simferopol and the city of Sevastopol.
The gunmen fired warning shots into the air, but Ukrainian soldiers repelled the attack.
Step-by-step, and meeting very little resistance, the pro-Russian troops are dismantling Ukraine's ability to resist in Crimea, says the BBC's Christian Fraser, who is in the region.
Pro-Russian activists also seized regional offices in the eastern city of Luhansk, forcing the governor to resign.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier defended Crimea's decision to stage a referendum on 16 March. Mr Putin said "the steps taken by Crimea's legitimate authorities are based on international law".
However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told him in a phone call that she considered the vote illegal.
Both EU leaders and the US have warned Moscow they would slap even tougher sanctions if Russian troops remained in Crimea.
Unrest in Ukraine erupted in November after former President Viktor Yanukovych's last-minute rejection of a landmark EU deal in favour of a bailout from Russia.
Mr Yanukovych was ousted last month, and a new government has been voted in by the Ukrainian parliament which Russia says was a "coup".
Nato jets to monitor Ukraine border
Mark Lowen went to meet one family fleeing the lawlessness of Crimea
Nato is to deploy reconnaissance planes in Poland and Romania to monitor the Ukrainian crisis.
It gave the go-ahead for the flights on Monday, a Nato spokesman said."All Awacs [Airborne Warning and Control System] reconnaissance flights will take place solely over alliance territory," the official said.
It comes as Russia cements its control of Ukraine's Crimea ahead of Sunday's referendum to join Russia. Ukraine and the West say this is illegal.
Continue reading the main story
The Awacs have some capacity to monitor vehicles on the ground
but their chief mission will be reassurance. The flights will be
mounted from bases in Germany and the United Kingdom.
An Alliance spokesman described the decision as "an appropriate and responsible action in line with Nato's decision to intensify our ongoing assessment of the implications of this crisis for Alliance security".
The US has already sought to reassure its allies in Europe by adding six additional F-15 aircraft to the Nato air policing mission over the Baltic Republics and it is also despatching 12 F-16 fighters for a training exercise in Poland.
Analysis
An Alliance spokesman described the decision as "an appropriate and responsible action in line with Nato's decision to intensify our ongoing assessment of the implications of this crisis for Alliance security".
The US has already sought to reassure its allies in Europe by adding six additional F-15 aircraft to the Nato air policing mission over the Baltic Republics and it is also despatching 12 F-16 fighters for a training exercise in Poland.
In the latest move on Monday, armed men - said to be Russian troops and local militias - seized a military hospital in Crimea.
The attackers marched into the hospital in the regional capital Simferopol, threatening staff and some 30 patients.Pro-Russian troops are also blockading Ukrainian troops across Crimea, which is an autonomous region.
Moscow has officially denied that its troops are taking part in the blockades, describing the armed men with no insignia as Crimea's "self-defence" forces.
The government in Kiev - as well as the US and EU - accuse Russia of invading Ukraine, in violation of international law.
'Enhance awareness' Nato said the surveillance flights would "enhance the alliance's situational awareness".
Continue reading the main story
Fact box: Awacs
- Airborne warning and control systems, or Awacs, are one of Nato's most sophisticated command and control aircrafts
- Plane is a modified Boeing 707/320B airliner
- Contains a radar system that can detect, identify and track enemy aircraft, and direct fighters to meet them, from the ground up into the stratosphere
- Flight crew of four plus mission crew of 13-19
- Also used by the US, Britain and France
Last week, the organisation said
it was reviewing all co-operation with Russia and stepping up its
engagement with the government in Kiev.
Nato's announcement on Monday came hours after men in
military uniforms broke into the Simferopol hospital, where Ukrainian
soldiers and veterans were being treated. Some of the patients were
reported to be seriously ill.The hospital director said he was forced onto a bus and kept there for half-an-hour.
The attackers also herded staff into a reception to apparently meet "the new directors", Ukraine's Interfax-Ukraina news agency reports.
Separately, pro-Russian troops tried to capture a military transport base in Bahkchysarai, a town between Simferopol and the city of Sevastopol.
The gunmen fired warning shots into the air, but Ukrainian soldiers repelled the attack.
Step-by-step, and meeting very little resistance, the pro-Russian troops are dismantling Ukraine's ability to resist in Crimea, says the BBC's Christian Fraser, who is in the region.
Continue reading the main story
Cossacks in Russia
- Trace their origin from the steppes areas in the modern-day Ukraine and Russia
- Describe themselves as "free men" and famous for rebellious spirit
- Have formed "military communities" for centuries
- Russian Cossacks took part in many tsarist military campaigns
- Gradually settled in border buffer zones as Russian empire expanded
- Many fought against Bolsheviks after 1917 revolution and fell out of favour in Soviet era
- Since fall of USSR, have taken active part in post-Soviet conflicts, including Crimea crisis
- Seen as defenders of conservative traditions
- Famous for whips and colourful clothing
On Sunday, tens of thousands of people in Ukraine held rival pro-unity and pro-Russian rallies.
Moscow supporters beat up their opponents in Sevastopol. Some of the attackers were Russian Cossacks with whips.Pro-Russian activists also seized regional offices in the eastern city of Luhansk, forcing the governor to resign.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier defended Crimea's decision to stage a referendum on 16 March. Mr Putin said "the steps taken by Crimea's legitimate authorities are based on international law".
However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told him in a phone call that she considered the vote illegal.
Both EU leaders and the US have warned Moscow they would slap even tougher sanctions if Russian troops remained in Crimea.
Unrest in Ukraine erupted in November after former President Viktor Yanukovych's last-minute rejection of a landmark EU deal in favour of a bailout from Russia.
Mr Yanukovych was ousted last month, and a new government has been voted in by the Ukrainian parliament which Russia says was a "coup".
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