Elton John helps rescue Ukrainian boy from tank attack: Report

KIEV, Ukraine, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Sir Elton John is believed to have been involved in the rescue of a 6-year-old Ukrainian boy and his grandmother from an anticipated attack in Mariupol.

The singer reportedly met Lev Ageyeva at an orphanage when he was 14 months old in 2009, British publication The Mirror reports. Though John wanted to adopt the boy at the time, he wasn't allowed to do so because of Ukraine's stance on gay couples adopting.

The "Candle In The Wind" singer vowed to not give up in his quest to adopt Lev and along with his partner, David Furnish, 51 reportedly collaborated with Ukrainian socialite Olena Franchuk, in organizing a 460-mile bus trip to get the boy and his grandmother, Yulia Ageyeva, 61, out of Mariupol and into Kiev.

"People say Russian tanks will attack soon. I thank God for whoever helped us. We've been told we will be moved to a flat and there's a school not far away," Ageyeva said.

A spokesman for John had no comment on the matter.

Ukraine is currently in the midst of a civil war, in which the military and pro-Russia rebels are fighting for control of the country. Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said Sunday confrontations are approaching "the point of the return" or in other words a "full-scale war."