Elton John didn't file adoption papers

DONETSK, Ukraine, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- British pop star Elton John did not file a request to adopt a Ukrainian boy after a recent visit to an orphanage in the Donetsk Region, a city official said.

Media reports said the 62-year-old singer planned to adopt a 14-month-old boy he met while on a humanitarian mission with his Elton John AIDS Foundation last week.

John reportedly was told he would be unable to take legal custody of the child, however, because the Ukrainian government doesn't recognize his marriage to longtime partner David Furnish, and prohibits unmarried people or those who are more than 45 years older than the child to adopt.

"We have received no documents from Elton John for the adoption of any of our children as yet," the Russian RIA Novosti news agency quoted a spokeswoman for Donetsk's city council as saying. "We have heard from media that he was going to adopt a boy from our orphanage, but he did not apply to us as yet."