The Russia-Ukraine crisis can be explained as a modified version of the conflict game 'chicken', where two players force each other to yield to avoid the worst possible outcome.
And the reason I call this crisis a modified version of 'chicken' is that one of the players, Russia, has suddenly planted over 100,000 troops along the Ukraine border, escalating tensions to unprecedented levels. And the other players, the US, and NATO have been presented with a list of security demands by Russia, which include banning Ukraine and other former Soviet states from joining the military alliance. And the worst possible outcome in the case may be war.
The US and other NATO allies have, so far, made no concessions to the demands, terming them as a non-starter since they go against NATO's core principles of an open-door membership policy. US President Joe Biden has gone to the extent of warning Russia that it "will pay a heavy price" if it chooses to invade Ukraine.