Elton John Still Standing By Ukrainian Boy, Yeah Yeah Yeah!

Despite being rejected for formal adoption, aging pop superstar not giving up on his HIV-stricken orphan

Elton John is working on one heckuva sequel to The Captain and the Kid.

The pop icon may have been rejected in his bid to adopt a 14-month-old, HIV-infected Ukrainian boy and bring him back to Britain, but he still plans to support the Tiny Dancer who stole his heart.

Sir Elton's longtime partner, David Furnish, tells BBC Radio that he and the 62-year-old John—who were forbidden to take custody of the child because Ukrainian law requires parents to be married (John and Furnish are in a civil union)—plan to provide financial assistance to the youngster, whose name is Lev, as well as his younger brother. That includes "making sure that they have the best health care, education and family options available to them," says Furnish.

The children currently reside in an orphanage for HIV-positive kids.

"We'd love to adopt them and bring them back here to Britain, but the laws don't support us in that regard, so we're going to do everything we can from here and keep them in their own country," Furnish adds, admitting he was "gutted" when they couldn't follow through on their original plans but stressing that he and John will fight to change Ukraine law.

Says Furnish: "I'm hugely disappointed. Really felt we could make a huge difference in their lives, but we'll make a difference from here."